Childhood's End
by RedHunter87
Summary: At the end of the first year, Dumbledore makes a different choice, electing to tell Harry about the prophecy. At the same time, McGonagall learns that she is the Godmother of Harry, and elects to adopt him. Now, Harry, with the help of his friends and family must train to face the prophecy that is rushing towards him. Features a driven Harry. Harry/Hermione in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1-Dumbledore's Choice

**Childhood's End**

 **Chapter 1- Dumbledore's Choice**

 _Year 1_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I am just borrowing her sandbox to play in while we tell this story._

 _A/N: This story is a reload/relaunch, with some pretty major changes. Special thanks to Chem-Death for helping with the story idea/plot._

 _This story is canon up until Harry is in the infirmary in the last chapter of the first book. The story diverges from there. For your convenience I have provided a summary of the events of book one up until the point that our story begins._

 _This story follows book canon, not movie canon. In places where they differ, I went with what the books said._

 _ **Harry Potter is a normal, abused 11-year-old child living in a cupboard under the stairs. Unexplained events happened around him that doesn't fit with what he believed to happen. The single explanation he could come up with was 'magic', but his aunt and uncle severely punished him anytime the word 'magic' was mentioned' and often without explanation. His hair would never stay cut, especially the time when his Aunt got angry and cut most of it off in a horrible haircut. The next morning his hair was back to normal. Sometimes he swore that he saw people bowing towards him on the street. The strangest thing however, was the fact he could talk to a snake at the zoo. Soon, Harry discovers that he is in fact, a wizard, a wizard who as a baby defeated the greatest evil to ever stalk the wizarding world. A killing spell intended for him rebounded and killed the Dark Lord instead. At least, the wizarding world believed this to be the case. Thus, Harry steps into a world that he is equally not ready for, and never more ready for. A world in which he is both famous, and has a great deal of money thanks to what his parents left behind. Harry picks up his supplies, and receives an owl from Hagrid in Diagon Alley. On the train to Hogwarts he meets two fellow students Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who quickly become his best friends. Once at Hogwarts, they are all sorted into Gryffindor, one of the four houses of Hogwarts.**_

 _ **This begins their many trials at Hogwarts. Almost right away strange things begin to happen. Harry discovers that he is a natural on a broom, and he becomes the youngest Seeker in almost 100 years for his house Quidditch team. At Halloween they battle a twelve-foot mountain troll together. They discovered that Sorcerer's Stone was being kept guarded at Hogwarts. In Harry's first Quidditch match, someone tried to kill him by putting a curse on his broom. Harry is given an invisibility cloak.**_

 _ **The courses at school was nothing like the world he left behind. The head of his house, Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration. One other that made an impact was Professor Snape, head of Slytherin and Potions Master. There was an instant dislike between them, and he learned that there was a history he had with his father, James Potter. Added to that, Snape favored one house only, Slytherin, causing the other houses to lose points in his class. Throughout the school year, Harry met many people and gained new experiences. He quickly learned that being a wizard wasn't all that easy, but he got through with his friends.**_

 _ **Near the end of the school year they decided to save the Sorcerer's stone themselves. They head through the trapdoor, facing a series of tests. The first test is to get past the giant three-headed dog guarding it, which requires the use of music. Next is a plant called the Devil's Snare which Hermione disposes of through the use of fire. Third is a series of flying keys, of which only one fits in the doorway that they need to go through. Next up is a life size chess game in which they have to play their way across the room. Ron took charge of this as he was the best chess player in the group. He had to be taken and knocked out, but they were able to clear the way. Next up was a troll that was already knocked out, so they moved past that. The fifth task they had to complete was the potions room in which they had to solve a riddle in order to figure out which potions would allow them to move forward and which would allow them move back. With Hermione's help, he was able to get through the flames. Now Harry was all alone to face whatever tasks remained. He stepped into a room where he found Quirrell looking at the Mirror of Erised. That was the final test and a trap. Only one who saw himself getting the stone to protect it would be given the stone. Harry defeated Quirrell by grabbing hold of him as his touch activated the magic that his mother's death had left protecting him.**_

 _ **Harry blacked out, and he was in the infirmary when he woke up again.**_

Dumbledore stood outside of the infirmary his hand on the doorknob. As he was about to go inside, he was stopped by Madam Pomfrey. She gave him a stern look which caused him to hold his hands up. "I assure you that I will do nothing to tire him out, but I must have a few words with him."

"It is funny you mention Harry Potter, Headmaster," she replied. "I got a chance to do a detailed exam, and you will never guess what I found," she said with sarcasm laced through her voice.

"I knew he came to school a bit underweight, but surely a year of good food has done wonders?" Dumbledore said, taken aback at her tone. She only took this tone when it came to the safety of her charges. _Something was clearly wrong, something she believed that he was overlooking._

"I had Professor McGonagall come and confirm this, because at first, I couldn't believe what my wand was telling me," she began.

Dumbledore felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his chest as she spoke. _Had his choice to leave Harry with his blood relations caused the boy to be abused? Those he had set to watch the house had never reported any outward signs of abuse._ "Please, go on. I need to hear this."

"He has been mistreated, beaten, and underfed for eleven years. He has bones that have been broken several times that have near healed properly. You must remove him from his home right away. This treatment cannot be allowed to stand," Madam Pomfrey informed him.

Dumbledore hung his head upon hearing this. "Mistakes were made, mostly by me. But, I assure you that those mistakes will be corrected right away. They will never abuse Harry, again." _He would personally go and place protections on the house of Harry's Aunt and Uncle. Protections that would alert him the moment that they raised a hand against Harry, or in any other way mistreated him. He would also have a few pointed words with them about how they had treated Harry so far._

"Quite right, they won't," said a voice behind them causing them both to turn around.

McGonagall stalked up to them fury clear on her face and in her voice. She was literally shaking from anger and she had her wand out and pointed at Dumbledore. "You lied to me, Albus. You never told me that the will asked that I take Harry in to care for him if his parents both died. They named me his Godmother! Instead you left him with some muggles who abused him for eleven long years. No wonder we saw a mostly broken boy who arrived at Hogwarts, and not the Boy-Who-Lived."

Dumbledore held up his hands in a weak attempt to ward off her fury. "Minerva, I will put safeguards in place to protect Harry when he goes back. If they lift a hand towards him, we will know right away. You are welcome to assist me in crafting those safeguards."

"WHEN HE GOES BACK? Have you lost your mind, Albus? " McGonagall yelled at him.

"He has to return, the blood wards are tied to him being with family," Dumbledore protested.

"He...is...never...going...back...there…" McGonagall spat at him. With visible effort she forced herself to calm down as she put her wand away. "I will be using my rights under wizarding law as his legally named Godmother and taking him home with me. As I should have done the night that Lily and James were murdered."

"But, Voldemort has returned. We know that for sure now. Those blood wards prevent him from going after Harry," Dumbledore said as he tried again to make her see reason. "The wards I plan to set up, they will protect him. When I have ever failed in that area?"

McGonagall gave him a cold look. "Are you suggesting that I am not capable of properly warding my house or protecting the boy?"

"No, it's just...there is nothing I can say that will change your mind is there?" he asked her.

"Nothing at all," she replied.

"Very well, then it is settled. You won't mind if I assist you with properly warding your house do you?"

She gave him a smile, relaxing now that she had her way. "Not at all. I would welcome your help in fact."

"I must go talk to him. There are things he needs to know. You should come as Minerva since you will be his new parent you will want to hear this."

Together, they walked into where Harry Potter was lying in his bed.

"Harry, my dear boy, what you did was a brave and amazing thing. You saved the stone from Voldemort," Dumbledore told him. "Because of your actions, Voldemort wasn't able to fully restore himself to the height of his powers."

"My friends?" Harry asked the Headmaster weakly.

"They have been up and around for a couple of days, and they will be happy that you are awake as they have spent as much time as allowed with you."

"Harry sat up more after hearing that, and it was then he spotted that McGonagall was also standing there. "Hello, Professor."

She smiled down at him. "Call me Aunt when we are not in school please."

Harry's expression changed to one of puzzlement. "I...don't...understand?"

"Really, Minerva, is that anyway to tell Mr. Potter the big news?" Dumbledore chided her.

"What big news?" Harry asked her.

"We just got a look at the will your parents left behind. It was their wish that I raise you if they died." _McGonagall left out the part that Dumbledore had the will in his possession for eleven years, and not said a word. She would make him pay for that later another way. For now, the important thing was Harry._ She paused to look at his face closely. "That is if you want that. I won't force you to accept."

Harry's expression turned to shock as she spoke. _Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would get away from the Dursleys._ " Yes! I would like that very much...Prof...Aunt. To get away from my aunt and uncle, I would almost go live with Snape...almost."

"Professor Snape," Dumbledore corrected him. He clapped his hands together. "Now that your living situation is settled, we can get down to the main reason I came here. I have something to tell you, and it won't be easy to hear Harry."

"Headmaster, I have some questions," Harry began.

"After I finish what I need to say, I will tell you whatever you want to know I promise," Dumbledore cut him off.

Harry nodded at this.

"When you bought your wand it was mentioned that only other wand has ever been sold of that type."

"How could you know that, Headmaster?" Harry asked him as shocked creeped into his voice. _Dumbledore hadn't been there when he bought his wand. Maybe Hagrid had told him._

"When I saw your wand for the very first time, I knew right away that it was of a wand type only seen once before. For you see, the phoenix core in that wand comes from my phoenix, and well, as you know the other matching wand was sold to Voldemort. I am sure you have wondered why you ended up with the matching wand. When Voldemort attempted to kill you, he marked you. He mistakenly gave you part of his magic." Even here Dumbledore wasn't telling Harry the entire truth _. He wasn't about to explain Horcruxes to an eleven-year-old, first year student. Also, he didn't have proof of what he suspected, and he knew for a fact that Voldemort wasn't aware that he might have turned Harry into a Horcrux._ Dumbledore made a mental note to confirm his theory when he suggested that Minerva take Harry to a magical healer.

"Is that why I can speak to snakes?" Harry suddenly asked as he attempted to digest this news.

"You can speak to snakes?" Professor McGonagall asked him.

Harry nodded. "I made the glass vanish in a snake cage at a zoo, and a snake told me he was going back to Brazil when I did. I thought I was crazy, but then I learned that I was a wizard," he said with a small chuckle.

"It makes sense," Dumbledore confirmed. "Anyway, I am sure you are wondering why Voldemort came after you and your parents. You weren't random targets. It has to do with a prophecy. Brace yourself Harry, this won't be easy to hear." He paused to give Harry a few moments to collect himself. "Are you ready?"

Harry nodded his heart racing. _Finally, he was going to find out the truth about why his parents were killed. This had been the one thing he had wanted to know the most since he found out they didn't die in a car crash._

 **"** _ **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...**_ **"**

Harry listened to what he said, unable to completely understand what it meant. _What few things he managed to understand was 'Dark Lord will mark him as equal' and 'one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord'. It sounded right since the night where his parents died, he survived, creating him an equal. The one to be able to vanish the Dark Lord which he had done so earlier tonight. Still, it hurt to hear that his parents' death was created by the prophecy. But he hadn't killed him. He was going to have to according to this prophecy. Even if it wasn't entirely true, or true at all, Voldemort believed it was, and would keep coming after him. And what's more, Dumbledore believed it, and Dumbledore was a very powerful wizard, one of the most powerful ever._

McGonagall reached out and wrapped him in a half hug which Harry returned.

"Voldemort won't get you Harry," she assured him. "He will harm you over my dead body. And you will learn to defend yourself. None of this nonsense about you being too young" She shot Dumbledore a glare as she said that last part.

Tears ran down his face for several minutes as he continued to hug McGonagall. Finally, he reached up and wiped the tears clear of his eyes. "Does...does Voldemort know the entire prophecy?"

"I don't believe so, only the part about the one with the power to kill him being born." Dumbledore answered. _He weighed if he should tell Harry the next part carefully. If he didn't do this correctly, Harry's relationship with him would be furthered strained than it already was. The central question was; could Harry handle any more shocks to his system right now or was this information that was better shared later on? He could remain silent and hope that Harry didn't ask him the logical next question._

"How did he learn about that much?" Harry asked his mind working furiously.

Dumbledore sighed at the expected question. "Do you trust me to know what you need to know, Harry?"

Harry nodded at that. "Yes, sir."

"Then, believe me that knowing this information serves no purpose. That person has already paid for their crimes, I assure you."

Harry relaxed a bit upon hearing that. "Okay, professor. How come Voldemort couldn't keep a grip on me? His skin burned every time he touched me."

"That is your mother's blessing Harry. When she died to save you, she left a magical...shield behind. That is why I left you at your blood relations house for 11 years. Staying there continued the magic which protected you. Voldemort has no concept of love, or the magical power that a mother's love can have." He sighed as he shifted subjects " I had no idea that they were mistreating you the entire time. I didn't keep as close of watch on you as I should have. I trusted the wards to alert me if anything deadly happened to you. Can you forgive an old man for his failure, Harry?"

Harry gave him a quick nod. "Yes, sir." _Now that he had a reason, it sort of made sense. It kept the protection his mother gave him by dying for him alive. A great wizard like Dumbledore must have a lot of demands on his time, so he just had made a mistake._

"What about the stone, sir? I remember seeing it in the mirror, and then, I had it in my pocket."

"Ah, the greatest mystery, isn't it? To get the Stone, one had to want it found for the right reasons. If one only claimed to use it for his own gain would only see themselves with that desire in the mirror. You wondered why you got it instead? Simple, you only wanted to find it and not use it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas between you and me."

"And the cloak sir? Do you know who sent it me? The note didn't say."

"Ah, that was me, I confess. Your father left it in my care, and I thought you might like to have it. Although, he didn't use it to save powerful magical stones from dark wizards," Dumbledore answered with a twinkle in his eye. "I could hardly have been seen handing you such a powerful magical item, so I had to send it the way that I did."'

"I am going to have to kill him aren't I? Voldemort I mean?" Harry asked them.

They exchanged looks before Dumbledore answered. "We believe so. But you won't have to fight him alone. It is my job to get you ready for the battle."

"And mine to protect you up until you are ready for that battle," McGonagall broke in. "And I take that very seriously. You will get the best training possible." _And he would have an army at his back, an army capable of rivaling the Death Eaters of Voldemort, if she had her way. And she would move the heavens themselves to protect Harry. This time when they battled Voldemort, they would do it correctly._

"You will begin to receive special training this summer," Dumbledore told him. "We don't know how much time we have before Voldemort returns in full to the height of his powers, only that he is likely to. And, yes Harry, your friends can join us assuming that their parents give the okay," Dumbledore told him with a smile as he guessed at what Harry was going to ask next.

"Sir, there is one other thing that is confusing me," Harry started.

"Go on, Harry," Dumbledore urged him.

"Quirrell said that Snape..."

"Professor Snape, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him. " You will refer to him with his proper title while you are in my presence, do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Is it true that he and my father hated each other? Is that why Sn...Professor Snape hates me so much?"

"They didn't get along, but Professor Snape doesn't hate you. He has been working hard all school year to protect you. Though you haven't made that easy, Harry."

"You try working with him, sir. He's not the most pleasant teacher to be around."

"Admittedly, he isn't known for his people skills, but he is a powerful wizard, and he saved your life several times this year," Dumbledore told Harry. "Now enough about him. I think it is time that we allowed you to rest so that you can attend the end of the school feast." With that Dumbledore stood up, heading out towards the door.

"Sir…"

He stopped and turned around. "Yes, Harry?"

"Can my friends come visit?"

How could he refuse a young man the comfort of seeing his friends. "Very well, I understand that they are waiting outside. But five minutes only, and no getting out of bed. Madam Pomfrey would have my head if you injured yourself again when you should be resting."

"Yes sir," Harry answered.

'We will talk soon Harry," McGonagall promised him as she rose and left with Dumbledore.

"Thanks Aunt!" Harry said as a smile broke out on his face.

Soon enough, his friends, Ron and Hermione, came in. They were practically running to his side expressions mixed with worry and relief.

"What happened you, Harry? It has been three days," Ron asked his friend.

"Well, that is a bit of a long story," And, Harry proceeded to tell them everything that he had learned since he awoke.

Several times through his telling of his story he saw that Hermione wanted to give him hard hugs, but thankfully she held off each time and allowed him to finish.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before he waved for her to go ahead. "Um...Harry we are glad that Professor McGonagall is going to adopt you. We heard how bad your injuries were...and that some of them were inflicted by your aunt and uncle." Still she looked saddened slightly as she spoke.

"Mum was livid. I thought she was going to go curse them right away," Ron confirmed.

"And he means that literally," Hermione said. "The Headmaster had to talk her out of it."

Hermione was shifting from foot to foot as they spoke.

"What?" Harry asked, fearing more bad news.

She looked down at the ground. "Nothing...it's just that I asked my parents if they would be willing to adopt you, and I explained the situation to them. And I got an owl back today saying that they would. I was hoping that we could be family."

"You are already like family to me, Hermione," Harry told her. "Both of you are. You have treated me way better than my family ever did."

A smile broke out across her face upon hearing that. "Thank you, Harry."

Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. "Out you two, he needs to rest," she scolded them. She pulled her wand out muttering a spell under her breath as she pointed it at him. "This will help you sleep now Mr. Potter."

As Harry drifted off to sleep he heard her continue to mutter.

"Sometimes I want to strangle that man for what he puts the students through. What's next at the school? Dragons?"

He smiled as he rolled over and went to sleep.

The next evening, Harry walked down to the end of the year feast. He had implored his friends to go ahead early without them, so that they could enjoy the full feast. They in turn had promised to save a seat for him. After one final checkup, he had been cleared to go himself.

When he arrived the hall was already covered head to toe in the green and silver of the Slytherin house. This was to mark the 7th year in a row that they had taken home the house cup. An entire cycle of students had passed since any other house had claimed the glory. Banners portraying the serpent of Slytherin covered each of the walls, and a massive banner hung down from the rafters of the great hall. All in all, that banner looked very much like a championship title pendent that would be hung from the inside of a basketball or hockey arena.

When Harry walked into the great hall, silence descended as everyone stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at him. Rumor of the events under the trapdoor had been flying widely throughout the school in the days since the event had occurred. The intent had been to keep the events secret, so naturally the entire school knew what took place. At least a version of it.

Paying no mind to the sudden silence and stares of his fellow students, Harry walked over and sat down between Ron and Hermione. "So did I miss anything important?" he asked them.

"Just the first course of the meal. No big deal," Ron replied.

:"We are glad you are feeling up to the feast," Hermione added.

"I thought I was never going to get out of there," Harry said with a sigh. "At least the food was good, unlike regular hospitals."

Moments later, Dumbledore arrived, and all of the talking died down to hear what he had to say.

"Another wonderful year, in which hopefully much learning took place. Many of our wonderful students are here for the final time, some are here for the very first time. A few words and reminds before I allow everyone to dig into the main course of the feast. First remember that assignments given over the summer, are expected to be turned in the very first day back. There will be no excuses allowed, as you have all summer to complete them. I have been asked to remind you that underage magic is forbidden outside of the school, especially in cases in which our fine underage wizards will be returning to muggle homes. Do not use magic unless you are given a special pass to do so. and even then, only when an approved and registered tutor is there giving lessons."

Harry looked a question at Ron. It was possible to get tutoring in magical subjects over the summer. That...when they...when... Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, had talked about giving him the best training possible, this must have been what they meant.

Ron nodded quickly before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Now on to matters that I am sure every student here wants to hear about. The house cup needs awarding. Currently, the Slytherins are poised to take home their 7th cup in a row as they lead with 472 points."

This got a round of clapping from the Slytherin table, and dirty looks from the other houses.

"We cost our house the cup," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Maybe so, but we stopped Voldemort from rising by using the stone. That was more important," Harry whispered back.

"Would you two be quiet. I am trying to listen," Hermione snapped at both of them in a voice barely above a whisper.

"And Gryffindor is in last place with 312 points," Dumbledore was finishing up. He held up a hand to stop further cheers. "But, in light of end of the school year events, more points must be awarded."

This shocked the room into quiet, as people sat on the edge of their seats.

"Just a few minor point awards to some very deserving students," Dumbledore began as the room hung on his every word. "First, to Mr. Ron Weasley...fifty points for the best game of chess played at Hogwarts since I have been here."

The Gryffindors stood as one at this announcement, clapping and cheering Ron.

Ron blushed as he held up a hand to acknowledge their cheers for him.

"Good job mate," Harry told him with a smile when they sat back down.

"If I got points, you must have gotten them to and also Hermione," Ron reasoned.

"Think it will be enough for us to win?" Harry asked him.

Ron shrugged at this. "Don't know mate, but either way we won't be in last place, and it won't be our fault that we lost the house cup."

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for her ability to solve riddles while looking death in the face, I award Gryffindor another fifty points."

No sooner had Dumbledore spoken those words then the entire Gryffindor house was back on its feet, this time to cheer Hermione.

Hermione hide her face as people near her patted her on the back and hugged her.

Finally, after another long round of cheering the Gryffindors sat back down. Still they looked ready to explode again at the next words from Dumbledore. Two statements and they were up 100 points.

"There are all kinds of bravery, and the Gryffindor house is best known for that. it is far easier to stare down the wands of your most terrible foes, than it is to tell your friends no. It is for this reason that I award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

This time the Gryffindor table wasn't the only one to rise. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were cheering with each new point awarded. The entire great hall could sense that the house cup was about to be yanked out of the grasp of the Slytherins. Just 51 more points and the house cup would belong to the Gryffindors.

"Finally...to Mr. Harry Potter, I have two point awards. First, for the sheer nerve to act on what he knew to be right, without regard to the consequences to himself, I award him fifty points."

A hush fell over the great hall. Gryffindor and Slytherin were now tied in the points standings of the house cup. But wait, Dumbledore had said that another point award was coming. Excitement built up around the non Slytherin tables as word spread about what that meant.

"Second, for keeping his calm in the face of extreme danger, and using his head to figure out the puzzles in front of him, I award a further fifty points to Gryffindor. Which means that a change in the decorations is in order." With a wave of his wand the great hall now reflected the fact that Gryffindor had won the house cup, with the banners now showing the lion and the scarlet and gold colors of their house.

The great hall went nuts, with the students of the other three houses mobbing the four people responsible for the downfall for the Slytherins.

Finally, able to break free of the pile, Harry sat back down with his two friends. This was one of the happiest moments of his entire life, and one that he would look back on fondly as things grew progressively darker.

 _It felt strange to not be leaving on the train the next day with his friends_ , Harry reflected. _Yet he was going home with his godmother Professor McGonagall who was insisting that he call her Aunt Minerva. That was a change that was going to take getting used to, as he had always been slightly in awe of her and scared of her wrath plenty of times while at school. It seemed like at times that she was always taking points away from him. Still, she had escorted him to the train platform to allow him to say goodbye to his friends. Then, she had told him that she had some end of the year paperwork to take care of, and that he was to head back into the castle once he was done saying goodbye._

Hermione reached out to gather him into a hug which he didn't fight. "It's been a fun first year hasn't it, Harry?" she said after she broke the hug.

Ron looked at her like she had just grown a second head. "Fun? Are you daft? We fought a troll, and he-who-must-not-be-named, how is that fun?"

"Harry fought Voldemort," Hermione said, drawing a gasp from Ron at the use of his name. "As for the rest, we learned way more than we otherwise would have."

"You...can't...use his name…" Ron scolded her.

"Why not? Harry uses it? And so does Professor Dumbledore," Hermione pointed out to him.

"Well Professor Dumbledore is...he's the only one that he-who-must-not-be-named is scared of. And Harry, is Harry. When does he ever follow the rules?" Ron said with a teasing grin.

"It is only a name. They don't have power over us unless we let them," Hermione responded.

Ron shook his head at that. "You don't understand, back in the war, he was literally he-who-must-not-be-named. He placed a charm on his name so that he was transported to whoever said his name. To say his name out loud meant death."

"If he is scared of Professor Dumbledore, how come Professor Dumbledore never confronted him?" Harry wondered out loud.

"He did a few times if mom's stories were anything to go by," Ron said.

"But he knew he couldn't win; he couldn't beat him. Remember the prophecy...Neither may live while the other is alive. One must kill the other," Hermione reminded him.

"But, you don't really believe that stuff do you?" Ron asked her.

"Professor Dumbledore seems to believe in it. That is enough for me. And it explains why I have been able to beat him twice now," Harry responded before she could.

Ron grinned as a thought struck him. "Does this mean that you can't be killed other than by him? Like if we shoved you in front of the train something would happen that would save you?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him. As she refocused, she found both of them looking at her as if expecting something. "What?" she said. "Is there something on my face?"

"It is a good question, Hermione," Harry told her.

She was silent for a few minutes as she considered it. "I don't think that is how it works. Even it is literally true, that doesn't mean that Harry can't be hurt or killed by other people. It just means that he contains within him the power to defeat the Dark Lord should it come to that."

"It is going to come down to me and him in the end, isn't it?" Harry asked. _In his heart he knew that it would._

Ron placed a hand on his left shoulder while Hermione placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"You will always have us, mate," Ron began.

"We fight him right alongside you, every step of the way," Hermione promised him.

"Including the final battle. You won't have to stand alone," Ron finished up.

 _This was what having real friends and real family was like,_ Harry knew. "Thank you, both of you. That makes me feel a lot better."

"Now, don't be a stranger this summer," Ron told him. "Mum wants you to come visit for a couple of weeks. I will be in touch by owl with details."

"You're going to have a great summer with Professor McGonagall teaching you. I bet you will learn loads this summer and be way ahead of us," Hermione said with a slight pout in her voice at that thought.

"I will ask her if you can attend some of the lessons, Hermione," Harry assured her.

Her face lit up at this. "You will? I mean, thank you."

Ron looked up at as the train gave the final boarding warning. "We have to go mate. Stay safe, and write us."

"I want to know all about your new home. I bet it will be so cool to live in a wizard home full time," Hermione said.

"I will write to both of you, I promise." Harry watched as they boarded the train, and he continued to watch as the train left the school. With a sigh, he turned around and headed back inside. He had to wait for his new Aunt to finish up her paperwork before he could see his new home. Still, anything had to be better than another summer with his aunt and uncle. Sighing, he sat down on a bench to wait.

Harry had just about gone to sleep when he heard a sound behind him. Whirling, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the sound. It was Snape.

"You will need to work on those reflexes if you hope to defeat the Dark Lord, Potter," Snape said with his usual sneering disdain.

Harry started to snap back at him, but he paused as he remembered that Dumbledore had told him that Snape had worked hard this year to protect him and save his life. "Excuse me, Professor Snape, I have a question," he began, trying to be more respectful towards Snape than he usually was.

Snape looked taken aback at that, but he motioned for Harry to go on.

"Sir, Professor Dumbledore said that you have been trying to save my life all year. Is that true?"

"Trying was the operative word, Potter. You continued to insist on exposing yourself to danger time and time again," Snape answered him.

"I don't understand, sir. I thought you hated me. Why would you try and save me?" Harry questioned him with confusion clear in his voice.

"I don't hate you, Potter. I hated your father, and I saw you as an extension of him. Your father was a natural bully, and we went at it for seven years."

 _My father was not a bully!_ Harry protested in his thoughts but didn't say out loud. Instead, he asked "Then, why work hard to save me?"

"I have my reasons, Potter. And, I choose not to share those reasons with you. It is enough that the Headmaster trusts me. Now, you were waiting on Professor McGonagall to be ready for you. She sent me to come get you." With that, Snape turned and headed towards her office not checking to see if Harry was following him.

With little choice in the matter, Harry followed Snape, his mind whirling.

With no other students remaining in the castle, their passage was swift. Within minutes, they had arrived at the office of Professor McGonagall.

Everything in her office was very neat and tidy as usual. Harry remembered several times he was in the office. He doubted he would ever find it messy unless she was busy with paperwork. Magic certainly had its uses for keeping a room clean. Professor McGonagall dismissed Snape much as a teacher would with another teacher. "Ready to go, Harry?" she asked him.

"Er, yes Prof-Aunt. My stuff is already packed. Have they-?"

"Yes, Harry. They're already at our home. Come." Professor McGonagall led Harry out of the school and to the edge of the school's property, stopping just outside of the wards that protected the school grounds. "Hold onto me." She offered him her hand which he took. She then apperated.

The sensation of it got Harry sick upon arrival. _Everything was spinning!_ "Whoa!" He grabbed onto his Aunt's dress to steady himself.

"Sorry about that, Harry. I should have warned you."

When Harry doesn't feel the need to throw up every time he opened his mouth, he said, "N-no problem, Professor. I've experienced stranger things."

"Aunt, not Professor," she corrected him, but with none of her usual sternness she used when she was addressing a naughty student.

"Sorry Aunt...that is going to take some getting used to," Harry responded as he shook off the last of the effects of the travel. He took that moment to look around at where they were. This was his new home after all.

They were standing outside of a two story house. It appeared very warm and welcoming while at the same time quite intimidating. The front porch had steps leading to the front door and had a rocking chair. Aunt Minerva led Harry to her house once he got his balance back and had a good look at the house. He was not surprised to see a very clean and orderly room when they walked through a simple but decorated door.

The decorations were a sight to behold as Harry tried to see each one. "I would not touch them till you know what in them," Aunt Minerva told him. Harry almost grabbed one of them and froze. Moving away from them, he looked back to her. "I will show you your room, so you can unpack." He nodded, following her up the stairs.

The hallway was carpeted with beautiful designs of dragons and other magical beasts that Harry didn't know, as she led him to his room. When he entered, it was bigger than he dreamed. It wasn't big as the dorm room at Hogwarts, but it was bigger than his cupboard under the stairs and even his cousin Dudley's room. Hedwig screeched when she saw Harry.

"Hedwig!" Harry walked over to allow her out of the cage. Hedwig flew out and made a perch somewhere in the room. Harry took the opportunity to look around and saw how normal looking the room was. The poster bed was against the wall, a dresser, and a desk. The floor was carpeted and a closet off to the walls were currently in the Gryffindor colors of scarlet and gold, and a large banner hanging on one wall, had the lion of the house in the same colors.

"I put them that way as a default," she explained to him. "You are welcome to change them to whatever color configuration you wish. I can change the colors or style with a wave of my wand. Whatever you want on the walls can be easily managed."

"I like it, Aunt. Reminds me of my first home, Hogwarts. Now, this is my second home, I'll leave it. Maybe later I'll change it." Harry started working on unpacking his things.

"You can unpack them later. Come, Harry. There's things I need to show you," Aunt Minerva said, leading Harry outside once more.

"What do you need to show me, Aunt?" He asked as he followed her back down stairs and outside on to the grounds.

"With you being here, the security of this house and the grounds need to be upgraded. To that end, several new wards need to be placed. Can you think of any that would be a good idea, Harry?" she asked him.

"The charm that means that no one but one person can give out the location of where the house is?" He asked in a hesitant voice. That had been placed on his parents' house, but they had been betrayed.

She nodded, giving him a smile. "Yes, that is the Fidelius Charm. I have already talked this over with Professor Dumbledore, and he has agreed to be the secret keeper. We are protected because we are both considered to live here, but only he will be able to tell others where the house is located."`

"Why is the Fidelius Charm so great, Aunt Minerva?" Harry asked her. "My parents used it, and they still died."

She nodded at that. "Sadly, Harry, they choose to trust the wrong person. I offered to be their secret keeper, and so did Professor Dumbledore, but your parents thought that both of us would be clear choices, and they wanted to fool the Dark Lord. We had suspected that there was a spy within our group, but we didn't know who it was. We only found out the night of the attack on your parents. I wish we had seen the clues in front of us earlier, Harry. I failed you that night, and I failed you again by allowing you to be placed with your aunt and uncle. But I promise you this, I will not fail to protect you again, not while I draw breath in my body. You will always be safe here."

"Thank you Aunt Minerva, that brings me a lot of comfort," Harry told her. He knew his friends cared for him, but having a family that does was something that would take getting used to.

"Now about the strengths and weaknesses of the Fidelius Charm. As you are aware picking the proper secret keeper is the most important thing. The strength of the charm rests on their ability to keep the location a secret."

"Couldn't someone compel them to give up that location?" Harry asked her. "I mean I know that, Professor Dumbledore, would die before he gave up the location willingly, but I remember that we learned in potions class that it is possible to brew a potion that compels the drinker to tell the truth to any questions asked."

"No, the location can't be forced by any known means. The information must be willingly given up by the secret keeper," she answered.

"Then, the person that betrayed my parents, he willingly did it? He wasn't forced to?"

"That is correct, Harry. Sirius Black chose to betray your father and mother, despite the fact that he and your father were best friends throughout their school years. They got into all kinds of trouble together, and spent many hours in my office," she said, her voice drifting back in remembrance. "I don't know what prompted him to go over to the Dark Lord. I would have never thought him capable of such a betrayal."

"What happened to him?" Harry asked her.

"He is in the wizard's prison, Azkaban. He will spend the rest of his life there. Escape is impossible."

"Can…" Harry paused as his voice broke from the combination of grief and anger. After taking a moment to collect himself he tried again. "Can we go visit him?"

Minerva seemed taken aback by this request. "We can if that is what you really want. I am sure it can be arranged. But I don't understand what you could hope to gain from such a visit."

"I want to ask him why he betrayed my parents. I want to look him in the eye while he tells me," Harry explained. "I have to know his reasons, I have to."

"Let me consider it, and get the arrangements started. We can have this conversation later on okay?" She knew that she needed to talk to Dumbledore about Harry's request. He could make it happen, provided that he approved of such a request.

Harry nodded at this. "Thank you."

"Now, let's get back to the topic at hand, the Fidelius Charm. We have already established that the only the secret keeper can hand out the location of a house protected under the spell. There is no known way to compel someone to give up this information, it must be given up willingly. The spell is among the most difficult to cast, because the secret is hidden inside of the soul of the target wizard. This is one of the oldest known spells. Now what do you think happens to a house that is placed under this spell, Harry? There are four things that happen as a result of the spell." she questioned him.

Harry took a few moments to consider things. "Well the house is invisible, it can't be seen to those that aren't told by the secret keeper right?"

"Very good. That is one of the four. Do you happen to know any of the other three?"

"I guess...um...you couldn't point out its location to someone who wasn't informed by the secret keeper. Which means that I won't be able to tell my friends where we live."

"Yes that is because it is unplottable," she confirmed.

"But, wait… what about the people that do knew about the location before the spell was cast? Does it make them forget somehow?"

She had been expecting that question at some point. "The spells causes them to forget the exact location even if they have memories of being there. They are unable to return to unless they are let in on the secret. They know the location exists, and they remember having been there, but they couldn't find it even if they were right on the exact street it was on. The other two things the spell does is it makes the house intangible, which means that objects and people just pass right through it unless they are in on the secret. This stops the house from falling under magical attack by those that have an idea of the basic location of the house. It is also soundproof. No sound will escape to give away the location. "

"I am still confused about how they can remember, yet not remember a location," Harry told her.

She nodded at that. "Yes that part confuses a lot of people when they study the spell. Just know that it works. I will be safe because I am casting the spell, I am including you in the list of people who are allowed to know as the spell is cast, so you won't forget where you live. Professor Dumbledore will be the secret keeper."

"So I will know the location, but be unable to tell anyone about it?" Harry asked.

"That is correct. Even those who are in on the secret can't spread that secret. One of two things changes this. First, after the death of the first secret keeper, in which case everyone they told becomes the new secret keepers. Second, the deaths of those the charm is intended to protect, that breaks the charm and everyone can see the house normally again."

"Is that the only protection that will be set up on the house?" Harry asked her. He was pleased that she was bothering to talk this over with him. Having adults who would treat him as something other than just a little kid was still new to him.

"No, Harry. There's the anti-muggle charm, which will keep muggles out. Also, I will be setting up an anti-intruder jinx as well which will stop unwanted guests from entering the grounds in nonstandard ways."

"All that to protect me?" he questioned her.

"Yes your protection has become the number one priority of the Order of the Phoenix," she explained. "To that end, I am sure that some of them will want to place more protection spells around my house."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" he questioned her, having never heard that name.

"Yes, created by Professor Dumbledore, during the first wizarding war. Now that he has returned, I am sure that the order will be reborn. I was a member of the first order and we vowed to fight the Dark Lord at all costs. Your parents were also members, and so were Ron's parents, Harry," she told him.

That made things very simple for Harry. If his parents were members, and if their first goal was to protect him, then he had to be a member as well. And if he was a member, that meant that Ron and Hermione would want to be members as well. "I want to be a member as well," he told her.

"You can't...we only allow wizards and witches who are of age and who are out of school to become members."

"But if everyone is putting their lives on the line to protect me, I have to be involved," Harry protested.

"That is their choice to make as they are of age adults. You are not an adult, and so that choice is mine to make for you. While you will receive the best training possible, I don't want you out there hunting down the Dark Lord." She put on her teacher face and voice. "Do I make myself clear, Harry?"

He knew better than to argue with that voice. "Yes mam."

"Good. Now that we have settled that, we should get ready for the arrival of Professor Dumbledore. When he arrives, I will cast the charm."

 _A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first foray into the Harry Potter Fan Fiction scene, so please be gentle with your reviews._

 _With that said, I have a couple of comments to make. First, while I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I am an American. I don't have an instinctive grasp of the differences between how Americans speak English and how the British speak English. To that end I need a couple of beta readers for this story. What I especially need is someone who grew up speaking British English, who can correct my mistakes when they sound American instead of British. Please let me know if you are interested in being a beta reader for this story. Also if I made any mistakes in this chapter, or any chapter going forward, please let me know. I will go back and correct them in the chapters._

 _On the topic of reviews, I love getting them. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter. I will strive to answer all reviews at the end of next chapter, or through PM. I won't reveal details that count as spoilers, but I will answer questions as best as possible. The more reviews I get, the faster I will upload the next chapter. I have the first six chapters written already, and I am going back and rewriting them as needed._

 _I really do believe that Harry was abused by his Aunt and Uncle. Hints to that nature were dropped all throughout the early books, and if anything he was clearly underfed and unloved. I am treating him that way in this story, and you will see the ramifications of that going forward in later chapters._

 _Until next time…_


	2. Chapter 2- A Visit to St Mungo's

**Childhood's End**

Chapter 2- A Visit to St Mungo's

Summer between Year 1 and Year 2

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Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe. I am just borrowing this sandbox for our entertainment and the enjoyment of my readers. I only own the things that I create while borrowing this world. Feel free to use my ideas and spells, but please give me credit when you do so.

* * *

Two days later, Harry woke up early as usual. As he was getting out of his room, he noticed that he had risen before his new Aunt. Not wanting to wake her up, he wandered down to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. Upon arriving, he realized that there was no stove for him to cook on. In fact, what he looked at that he thought was a stove appeared to be operated by magic, magic that he wasn't allowed to use outside of school till 17. Sitting down at the table with a small sigh, he saw that an owl had already brought the morning paper which included a copy of the Daily Prophet.

As he sat down, a house elf popped into view. "Can I get Master Harry some food?" the house elf Zarpey asked him.

"French Toast please, Zarpey," Harry responded. In moments, the requested food along with a goblet of pumpkin juice appeared in front of him. As he ate, he picked up the newspaper.

He had seen the Daily Prophet before, having learned it was the wizardry newspaper. He had a year to get used to the fact the pictures move in an endless loop. No, what surprised him was the cover. It was him from the annoying day yesterday. The news reporters had surrounded him with his Aunt about the move outside of their home on some errand. The picture showed him flinching away from the flashes of cameras. Aunt Minerva was somewhat in the shot trying to help block them. He could see her arm with her wand extended, pointing at the news reporters. The news had traveled fast. The headline read "Boy Who Lived Adopted by Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress!"

Underneath that was a smaller headline. "Minerva McGonagall adopts Harry Potter after the will of his parents is discovered." The byline was by Rita Skeeter. Harry picked up the newspaper and began to read.

In a shocking turn of events that stunned the Wizarding world yesterday, news broke that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had been adopted by one of Wizarding own. Minerva McGonagall, best known as the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry filed for, and was granted adoption of her student. Sources close to the situation heard her instruct Harry to call her Aunt Minerva. Yours truly, did a little bit of digging to discover how this amazing turn of events came about. To ask for and receive an adoption that quickly requires proof that the current living situation is unfit for the child. So how was it that the Harry Potter, darling of the Wizarding world had been living for eleven years in such a situation? And how bad was it? Read inside on page five for the horrifying news.

Page five, Harry started to look as he opened the newspaper, surprised by a sudden pop up. It never happened before in Hogwarts as the magical display played its...advertisement. The paper was frozen and unreadable as the ad played. The Most Interesting Wizard in the World: A very macho looking wizard...in fact he looked a lot like Gandalf from the cover of The Lord of the Rings books that Harry had read shortly before coming to Hogwarts, was moving across the paper as a voiceover played. "He is the Most Interesting Wizard in the World: When werewolves bite him, they are cured. Aurors question him on a weekly basis, just because he is interesting. If he were to mail a letter without using an owl, it would still get there. He is the Most Interesting Wizard in the World." Here the wizard spoke in a deep, sexy voice. "I don't often drink, but when I do, I drink Butterbeer. Stay thirsty, my friends."

As the ad ended, the paper unfroze and Harry was able to continue reading the article. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, suffered nearly eleven years of horrible abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle. His parents were killed by the Dark Lord and when the Dark Lord went to strike down the baby Harry Potter, his killing spell rebounded, killing him instead. Mystery over how he was moved from his home to his new one remained clouded, along with why he was left in such a home. That was until recently. Sources inside Hogwarts inform us that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore made the choice entirely on his own, and over the protests of those around him to place Harry Potter into an abusive home and keep him there for eleven years. Those who were there that faithful night tell us that Professor McGonagall pleaded with Dumbledore to be allowed to raise Harry herself, citing her close relationship with his now tragically dead parents. Dumbledore is said to have told her that the choice wasn't hers to make. That as a leader of the Wizarding world it was on him and him alone to make that choice. Furthermore, he refused to allow her or anyone else from the Wizarding world to check up on the health of the abused boy. We have learned of horrific events of abuse, events so disgusting that we can't bear to recount them here in this paper. No one should have to read about, much less live through what poor Harry Potter, the one who defeated 'He Who Must Not Be Named', suffered through in the hands of his Muggle relatives. The wizards should rejoice when his new home was now moved to where he belongs: the wizard world.

No doubt, Dumbledore's decision was met with angry outcries from the wizards and witches across the United Kingdom. That anger was further confirmed by his unwise decision at the hands of his aunt and uncle, who sources claim to have a son of their own. All three forced him to work like house elves, fed him poorly, and punished severely for any magical outbursts that were most likely triggered from the stress of their abuse in the first place. Clearly, they hated such fine wizards. It was only fortunate Harry survived such a predicament and went to Hogwarts when his time came. With that, he was able to be rescued and placed where he belongs.

On behalf of those working at this paper, I would like to express our joy upon hearing that Harry has been placed in a proper living situation, and our fury at learning that he has spent 11 years being abused and mistreated.

Many would like to comment upon Dumbledore's decision and sadly we can't place them all here. But I finish the article with a sampling of what wizards and witches on the street are saying.

"That poor boy, having to suffer through all of that abuse at the hands of those wicked Muggles. They should have everything visited upon them that they did to Harry Potter. If I knew where they lived…" Giada Shephard told us.

"Dumbledore must be getting old, to send the boy that saved us all to live with Muggles. What would Harry's parents think of that choice?" Phoebe Walker commented.

And for the final one which is of course the most relevant, prominent wizard Lucas Malfoy had this to say about the situation: "If this is the care that Dumbledore gives to children, maybe he isn't the right headmaster for Hogwarts."

No word of response to the threat to his headmaster's position of yet from Dumbledore, but I will keep you all posted on it. I reached out to him, but my letters weren't returned in time for this story. Stay with this paper for further updates on the situation.

Harry was having mixed feelings reading the newspaper. He was annoyed that the wizards he doesn't know were sticking their noses in his business. He couldn't deny most of the information regarding to his upbringing, but reading about it didn't make him feel better. The rest simply confused him either not knowing who they were or if the facts were correct other than those he already knew. As he sat in thought, Aunt Minerva walked in.

Looking up from the newspaper, he saw her. "Aunt, have you read this part of the newspaper?" He showed her the section he was talking about as he gave her the newspaper.

"Not yet, Harry," she replied back. She was in her pyjamas and robe as she read the news coverage of Harry changing homes. "This bound to happen, and I'm not surprised due to the entire ruckus yesterday. I wished news don't travel fast sometimes." Tossing the newspaper on the table and ordering her usual to her house elf, she sat down. "We can talk more about this later if you want. Today, once you're finished up eating and getting dressed, we're going for a check-up on you. St. Mungo's have the appointment ready for you."

"A check-up?" Harry asked, surprised. His own aunt and uncle never bothered with such things. "What for?"

"It's to make sure you're healthy, and no long term damage was caused from living with your relatives for eleven years." She smiled at him. "Go on, the rest of your breakfast is here and getting cold."

Harry blinked and looked down to the plate that appeared where he wasn't looking. Still hungry, he started eating. Once he ate and drank to his content, he got off the chair and looked to her. He smiled to Aunt Minerva before walking to his room.

* * *

 **~St. Mungo's Health Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries ~**

Harry stared in wonder of the wizard's "hospital" as he walked inside with Aunt Minerva. As he looked around, Aunt Minerva talked with the receptionist and led Harry to the correct floor. Some of the people Harry passed recognized him, which made the news of his arrival spread like wildfire. Great, this will likely be in tomorrow's paper. Finally, they reached the seventh floor where they sat down and waited. It wasn't a busy day, so Harry was quickly called upon and ushered in a room.

Harry was ushered into a brightly coloured room. People on broomsticks raced around the walls as he watched. On closer examination, Harry saw that one of them was wearing the colours of the Quidditch team that Ron always spoke of. Taking a few minutes to think it over Harry figured out that the other racers must be then each wearing the colours of a different team in the Quidditch league.

"You must be Harry Potter", a warm voice behind him said. "I am very pleased to have got to meet you." As Harry turned around he saw a young smiling woman in healer's robes. "My name is Healer Armadi, Susan Armadi. You can call me Susan. I know your parents when I was young. We attended Hogwarts together. I am pleased to be your healer. Let's get started." She waved her wand. "I'm going to check on your overall health."

A light sensation went through Harry as the wand did its job. When it touched his scar, he felt horrible pain and winced.

"Hmm," Susan hummed in thought. "You have suffered much throughout your life before Hogwarts. Some of them were fixed in Hogwarts and your new home like being fed well and rested. Still, there is a considerable amount damage to undo. Not to worry though, I will have you all fixed up in a jiffy."

She waved her wand over him, causing his body to burn like someone had set him on fire, for the briefest of moments. By the time he could react to the pain, the burning feeling was replaced by a cold that swept across him causing him to shiver. Soon that feeling was replaced with an itching all over his body. He could feel his bones knitting together properly!

"All healed up now, Harry," Susan told him. Then taking a second look, she frowned. "That should have removed that nasty scar of yours." She waved her wand over him again, muttering under her breath. "I haven't ever seen anything like it. It isn't harming you, not directly at least, but it sets off my wand when I test your health. I am afraid…"

"Afraid of what Mam?" Harry asked her.

"I am afraid that it will never go away, and that no magic that I am aware of can heal it." She gave him a tight smile. "And I am the top healer here, if I can't fix it, it can't be fixed. Still, I am not ready to call it quits just yet. The defeater of the Dark Lord only deserves the best medical care. And, after having suffered 11 years of abuse at the hands of the nasty Muggles. Poor boy," she continued as she cast spell after spell on him, searching for something. "Ah, yes!" she exclaimed after long minutes of spell casting.

"What it is it?" Harry asked her.

"We will have you fixed up shortly. But for now, I need to go talk to your aunt." She paused considering. "Why don't you work on your basic spell work while you wait? If you can do the basic year one spells, I will give you extra candy at the end of the visit."

Harry looked at his aunt. "Can I? Can I please?"

McGonagall smiled at him. "The trace…" she began.

"Oh not to worry," Susan assured her. "So much magic is used every minute here, that it makes it impossible to know who is doing what magic."

Minerva nodded at this. "Very well, but basic spells only Harry. And nothing destructive," she warned him.

"I promise, I will be good Aunt," he said with a big grin breaking out on his face. He loved doing magic! And the chance to get extra candy was nice as well.

Together Minerva and Susan stepped outside, getting out of the ear shot of Harry.

Minerva dropped her smile as soon as her back was turned. "Okay Susan, spill it."

Susan had a grave expression on her face. "Professor McGonagall, the damage I scanned turned out to be more serious than I suspected. I was easily able to fix the damage that Harry suffered from his relatives. The damage that the Dark Lord inflicted on him caused some serious damage. I don't know if the killing curse that he managed to live through was the cause of it, but if I had to venture a guess, that would be what I would bet on."

Minerva forced herself to remain calm. "Bottom line it for me, Susan. How much danger is my Godson in?"

"The danger level is unknown at the moment. In the short term, likely none, but it is Harry's long term health that I am worried about. I need you to give me the okay to do a deep scan on him, so that I can find out about the true depth of the problem immediately."

Minerva needed less than a minute to consider this. "You have it. I will fill out the paperwork while you get started." She walked into the room and smiled at Harry.

"Healer Susan, needs to run more tests Harry. She is going to put you into a deep sleep for a little while. I will be here the entire time with you."

Harry didn't feel worried about this. A deep sleep didn't sound so bad, and besides his Aunt was going to be right there. "Okay Aunt," he responded.

"She will lead us to the room required for the scans," Aunt Minerva explained to Harry. She walked to him and took his hand.

As they walked Harry looked up at her. "Am I going to be okay? I mean this is just standard because I have never had a check-up here right?" Harry asked with slight worry beginning to creep into his voice. He hadn't been told to expect this, only being told that this wasn't anything like going to a Muggle doctor. Harry wasn't sure about what happened with Wizard children, but surely they needed to see healers for checkups like Muggle children saw doctors. Because Harry was looking around as he spoke, he missed the flash of worry that appeared on his Aunt's face.

"You are going to just be fine. You have the best Healer in all of the United Kingdom looking after you," she assured him. "She was one of my best students...although like you, she tended to get into some trouble. In fact, there was a time were Susan…"

Susan looked back as she heard her name being mentioned. Her face flashed as she figured out the story that McGonagall was going to tell. Acting quickly before Minerva could go on she turned into the nearest room. This hasn't been her first choice as it was a room meant for adults with none of the cheery moving pictures that were in the children's rooms, but otherwise it functioned exactly the same. "Oh look, we are here. Now Harry, I need you to lay down on that table for me, please." She pulled out her wand as she spoke.

Harry nodded and climbed up onto the table lying down on the pillow provided. Despite the fact that the table looked like it was solid metal, it was in fact quite comfortable, and Harry felt his eyes beginning to close. He wondered how they managed to make a metal table so comfortable. I bet Hermione would know, he mused to himself.

"That's right Harry just relax and let Healer Susan take good care of you," McGonagall's voice said kindly above him.

"I want you focused on relaxing, exactly as you doing now. Don't fight this next part," Susan instructed. Pointing her wand at Harry she spoke a spell that he had never heard before. "Sopor"

Almost instantly Harry was asleep.

Susan began the deep scan of Harry's body and for long moments she was silent as she paid attention to the results coming from her wand. The silence was suddenly shattered with a gasp as she staggered backwards lowering her wand.

Reacting quickly, McGonagall pulled out her wand, scanning the room for anyone who could be invisible and attacking. She stepped to Harry's side, looming over him as she continued to scan the room for threats. Her other hand was inside her robe, reaching for her two-way mirror that all of the Order members carried. Although the Order of Phoenix had been disbanded with the death of Voldemort, she still retained her two-way mirror and carried it with her. Especially now that they knew that Voldemort was attempting to make a comeback and she was responsible for protecting Harry.

"He's cursed," Susan said as she pulled herself back together and raised her wand again. Images sprung up in front of her as the inside of Harry's body became clear. The images zoomed into his magical core. Wrapped around his pure green magical core were black tendrils of darkness that pulsed up and down as though they were feeding on Harry's magical core.

Never in her seventy years had McGonagall seen anything like that. "What the bloody hell is that?" she asked the Healer.

"Near as I can tell, it is some sort of advanced dark magic that is poisoning his magical core. It appears to be almost feeding off of it," Susan explained in a shaky voice.

"Can you remove it?" McGonagall asked. "I will sign whatever paperwork is needed for you to go ahead and get that thing out of Harry."

"I don't know if I can, this is dark magic beyond my understanding. This is not a normal curse; this magic appears to be tied to the very core of who Harry is. Removing it in the wrong way could...will kill him if he is lucky. But things could be a lot worse than simply death."

"Worse than death how?" McGonagall asked as her heart beat rapidly. She had just found out that Harry's parents wanted her to raise their son in the event of their death. She had failed him for eleven years already by listening to Dumbledore, she wasn't going to fail him again now."

"He could lose his magical abilities. That would leave him helpless to defend himself," she explained calmly now as she hid her feelings behind the shield of her job. Her job was to find a way to cure this, no matter what. Personal feelings mattered not. It didn't matter that Lily had saved her life once when she was a child. She had to do her job to the best of her abilities as a Healer.

"That is unacceptable," McGonagall said in a tense voice. To be a wizard who couldn't use magic in the Wizarding world. That was widely viewed as a fate worse than death. Besides a lot was riding on Harry, the fate of the entire Wizarding Britain, hell even the entire Wizarding world needed him to defeat Voldemort. Although Susan didn't know that, Harry had to be healed at any and all costs. No matter who she needed to bring in to achieve that end. And she knew just the person to consult. Pulling out her two way mirror she spoke into it. "Snape."

Moments later the mirror cleared up as a face appeared on it. "Well, I must say this is unexpected Minerva. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?'

"I need your skills...Harry needs your skills," McGonagall explained curtly.

Snape was one of the few people in on the entire prophecy, so he knew what that meant. He also knew that she wouldn't ask unless it was literally life or death. Their relationship had been strained ever since the deaths of the Potters. She placed part of the blame for that on him. This was less blame than he placed on himself for the death of the love of his life Lily. He had spent all year working to save her son as a small way to repay that debt. Now it seemed like he could take a larger chunk of the debt away by saving Harry once again. "Keep the link open. I will be there in a moment. Let me gather my equipment," Snape told her.

"That won't be needed. Your skills in the dark arts are required, not your potions," McGonagall informed him.

His skills in the dark arts? Very interesting. Dumbledore refused to allow him to take the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts, saying that it might tempt him to become who he once was again. Minerva was Dumbledore's right hand in almost every way, yet this request was coming from her and not from Dumbledore. This meant that he likely had no knowledge of the events. Snape had seen the paper this morning and if half of what was claimed in the article was true, it was understandable that Minerva would be quite upset with Dumbledore currently. As he was, the conditions that Harry had endured were outrageous. Snape was ashamed that in keeping his cover he had made things worse not better for the son of Lily. He had no idea that Harry had been treated as such by his own blood relations. That they had taught him nothing of the Wizarding world.

Focusing he vanished, appearing next to Minerva. Quickly he scanned the room, noting that an unknown healer was standing next to Minerva, and that Potter was in a state of deep sleep on the sole table in the room. In front of the healer were images of the boy's magical core, images tainted with darkness.

Snape could only think of one form of dark magic that this could be. But how? It didn't make any sense. Surely the Dark Lord hadn't intended this, but could he be capable of such a mistake? They needed to act quickly if the boy was going to be saved from long term damage. And this would give the Dark Lord a link into the mind of Harry when he returned to his power. That was unacceptable. Drawing his wand without a word of greeting Snape pointed it at Harry and made a slight slashing motion. The image of Harry's core wavered slightly as one of the tendrils fell off of the core. The remaining tendrils pulsed angrily and expanded, growing to cover even more of the magical core of Harry.

"Stop it this instance!" Susan shouted at him. "I demand to know what you are doing right now."

Snape pointed his wand at her and said a single word. "Obliviate."

Susan's head slumped as her face took on a blank look. The images in front of her vanished as she lost her focus.

McGonagall had stood by and watched the entire time, trusting that Snape was here for the right reasons and that he knew what he was on about. Now she spoke to him. "Care to explain what just happened?"

"Harry is a Horcrux," Snape explained.

Shock blossomed on McGonagall's face, quickly replaced by a mix of rage and confusion. "I thought a living person couldn't be a Horcrux."

"Clearly, we were wrong," Snape responded shortly. "What matters now is how we get it out of him."

"And you obliviated her so that she wouldn't report this like she would be legally otherwise required to do," McGonagall guessed.

"Correct" He raised his wand and began to cast all kind of wards around the room. Wards that effectively sealed them in and made it impossible to look into the room. Snape then turned his attention back to the Healer. "We have an unknown dark magic in this child, Healer Susan," he said as he read off her name tag. "You attempted to cure it and the backlash wiped your memory. I was called in as I am a specialist on dark magic. You may call me Severus."

Susan snapped back to focus as she was spoken to. Raising her wand, she quickly brought the scan back up. "This is unacceptable. Do you know that this is Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived? He-who-must-not-be-named must have cursed him when his killing spell rebounded. All steps must be taken to save the child. The entire Wizarding world owes them their lives."

Snape nodded at this, choosing to refrain from commenting. "That is why I am here. You attempted to remove the tendrils and you triggered some sort of trap. Also there are more of them wrapped around his core now than before."

"Clearly this dark magic has many safeguards in place protecting it. We need a team of specialists; I need to contact my bosses."

"You can't," Snape explained. "Before you attempted to remove the dark magic, you created a list of safeguards for us to follow. One of those safeguards was that we are stuck here until the problem is solved. I was instructed to seal the room off by my bosses working off your suggestion. I have done so as ordered. I am afraid that the wards are quite impossible to break through in any reasonable amount of time. Meanwhile the dark magic is aware of us and it is growing inside of Harry. We don't have a lot of time."

Susan nodded at that. It made sense that she would act to seal the room if it was at all possible that this dark magic could spread. "I hope that you have come up with something," she told Snape.

He nodded at this. "I know one thing that might work, but it carries a lot of great risks. You will need to be standing by with several major healing spells ready."

"Wait. Why?" McGonagall said stepping back into the conversation

"I am going to attempt to remove all of the tendrils from Harry's body at once, using a modified version of another spell. But in order to be sure that I get all of it, I have to be totally focused on the removal and not on the how it is removed. I plan to take the most direct route possible."

"You are going to rip the tendrils out of his body?" Is that wise?" McGonagall said with worry in her voice. "That doesn't sound safe and it very well could kill him."

Susan and Snape exchanged looks. "That is correct," Susan told her. "However given the backlash from the first attempt, this might be the only way to go about this. Can we proceed?"

McGonagall was silent for long moments as she calculated the risks. But in the end she didn't see any other choice. They couldn't destroy the Horcrux while it was still in Harry's body, not without likely killing Harry. "Proceed," she told them. It sucked to be regulated to a spectator by these events.

Nodding Snape raised his wand again making circles in the air above Harry's body. "Magia Malefica Dispersimus!" he shouted out. As he completed the spell Harry began to jerk around as deep wounds opened up all over his body. His shirt dissolved into a mess of red wounds. Black mist began to rise out of the wounds on Harry's body, quickly forming into the shape of a man.

Acting quickly, McGonagall pointed her wand at a container designed to hold ink on the counter. "Incarcifors." The ink container rose up into the air transforming into a prison that wrapped itself around the mist.

Meanwhile Susan was muttering "Vulnera Sanentur" over and over again over each of Harry's wounds. Slowly the wounds closed and Harry's breathing returned to normal as the color also returned to his body. She slumped over the table as she finished up, feeling totally drained. She had never performed so many major healing spells in a row like that. It was a miracle that Harry had managed to live long enough for her to close all of the wounds up.

Holding the container containing the Horcrux in one hand, McGonagall conquered up chairs for all of them to sit in. As she settled down in her chair, she smiled at both of them. "Thank you both. You have saved Harry's life and his magic." She held up the container. "I will take this to the proper place to be dealt with."

"What was that? It was almost like another person was inside of Harry, or a fragment of another person."

This time it was McGonagall that said "Obliviate" as she pointed her wand at Susan. They waited while the Healer shook off the effects of the latest memory wipe.

"What happened?" She asked weakly she clutched at her head.

While this was going on, Snape was dismantling the wards that he had put into place earlier.

"You did it, you saved Harry's life, but before I could contain it some of the dark magic struck you, leaving you unable to act or speak. We captured it and Severus healed you. But it appears that your memory was lost again. This must have been the final safeguard of whatever this is. Know that you saved the life of my nephew and for that I can never repay you in full. But I think a scholarship in your name at Hogwarts for those that intend to go on to be Healers should be a good start." Lying came easy to her after her long practice with the Order. She would do whatever it took to protect Harry.

"I can't accept personal gifts as a result as my actions on the job. You know that," Susan told her.

"There is no personal gift to you. You get nothing out of this. This is being done for Hogwarts. Just because we are going to ask you to be the one to make the final choice for the scholarship doesn't mean it is a personal gift," McGonagall told her with a wink.

"Very well, I accept with great pride," Susan told her. Glancing down at Harry, she cracked another smile. "Look his scar is gone!"

Harry stirred weakly on the table. "I feel so strange" he groaned.

Susan stood up drawing her wand again. "Strange how, Harry?"

"I feel so weak, but I feel stronger than I ever had been at the same time."

"There was a problem with your magical core. But we corrected it," Susan explained to him. "Your magical core is what gives you the ability to cast magic. Every Wizard or Witch has a different size core, which is why everyone has different levels of ability." She did another quick scan on his core as she spoke. Now it was glowing bright green with no dark spots on it. And she could have sworn that it had grown in size by a fair amount. But that might have been her confusion talking she knew. What she thought had happened simply wasn't possible. No cores could grow like that overnight. "You look better than ever," she finished up for him.

As Harry sat up he continued to speak. "No, I feel lighter inside like a heavy weight was…" he cut off as his eyes locked onto Snape."What is he doing..." he began to ask only to stop when his Aunt shook her head slightly.

"He assisted me when I require his expert opinion. Your visit is over, and I'm glad to give you your future health check-up, Harry," Susan continued.

"That's our cue to leave. We need to get you home and rest up from this," Aunt Minerva said as she got up. Severus remained where he was not saying a word.

"By allmeans he is free to go," Susan told her. "But Harry, I have a few warnings for you. Your core feels different, and your magic is fully healed now for the first time ever. So that means that you might experience stronger bursts of magic when you cast spells. It will take time for your body to become fully adjusted to what you are now capable. You need to be extra careful, don't overtax your new abilities." She smiled at him as she spoke. "Also one other thing. You might be prone to random outbursts of magic while your core adjusts. If you strive to remain calm, you can limit the amount that it happens, and how big the outburst is."

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A/N: Thank you for reading the second chapter of Harry Potter: Childhood's End. I really enjoyed writing this chapter.

Now on to a couple of points about this chapter. I feel that the wizardry world should have some form of a check-up like the Muggle counterpart but through the use of magic rather than machines. The scene at St. Mungo's in book 5 gave me a window how wizards view injuries and how to take care of the patients. It seemed odd that the children weren't required to be checked up to make sure they're healthy and left to the parents to take care of their health and needs. Of course, I can't be sure due to the entire series revolving entirely around Harry. Going to see the doctor or dentist are common childhood memories for most of us, so the books seemed to be missing some of that. Due to what Harry suffered, his check-up wasn't going to be a normal one. I have no idea how the people who treated Harry for all his injures at Hogwarts missed the injures that he had suffered before coming to Hogwarts. How they thought he was a perfectly healthy 11-year-old kid. But, I digress.

To answer a question that I know is going to be asked; yes, that was the Horcrux that was part of Harry. Now it has been removed from him. It hasn't been destroyed, McGonagall and Snape don't know how to destroy a Horcrux. It is currently contained. This will have some interesting side effects on Harry beside enhancing his magical core. For example, he will no longer be able to speak to or understand snakes. That ability came from Voldemort.

I used some new spells in this chapter, and I will continue to use my own created spells in further chapters as I fill in the gaps of what wasn't said in the books. As they mostly are in the books, my spells use Latin phrases and roots. I do my best to get things correct, but mistakes are bound to happen anyway. If you, the readers will kindly point out when you see those mistakes, I will correct them as soon as possible. Anytime I don't use a common spell, I will define it at the end of the chapter. Spells in bold are of my own creation. If you wish to use them for your stories, feel free to. However, you need to please give me credit in your story if you do so. A lot of research and work went into creating these new spells.

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 _Glossary_ :

 **Sopor → This spell puts the target into a deep coma-like sleep. It is important that it is used on a willing target as the body is capable of resisting and shaking off the effects of this spell otherwise.**

 **Magia Malefica Dispersimus → This means literally to scatter/disperse dark magic. The wording puts it in the first person meaning that Snape** said **"I disperse the dark magic."**

Incarcifors → Transfigures a common container into a prison for something or someone. The word means to imprison or incarnate.

Obliviate → A memory wiping spell that leaves the target confused afterwards. How much memory is wiped depends on how much power is put into the spell.

Vulnera Sanentur → A spell used to heal major wounds. Invented by Snape.


	3. Chapter 3-Shadow of Darkness

**Childhood's End**

 **Chapter 3- Shadow of Darkness**

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Summer between Year 1 and Year 2

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 _Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Harry Potter._

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 _A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited. Please keep doing so. That inspires me to provide better quality content._

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For the past month, Harry had been stuck in bed as he recovered from his visit to St Mungo's. Although he had been allowed to correspond with Hermione and Ron, he had spent most of the two months bored out of his mind. Hermione had suggested that he use the downtime to get ahead of his school reading for year two, but he couldn't bring himself to focus on his school books for that long. He had finally read Hogwarts a History cover to cover, and it had been an interesting and informative read. Now he knew how an entire massive castle could be unnoticed by muggles. He has also paid close attention to how the wards that guarded the castle were described, and now he knew why some things were simply impossible in the castle. All those wards hadn't kept Voldemort out because they weren't designed for that.

His boredom had been broken up by visits every few days by Professor Snape, who had come by with potions for him to drink. He had asked Professor Snape for a book about truth potions, and Professor Snape had complied by bringing him one. Now he knew that with the right potion it was impossible to lie once consumed. That gave him an idea of how to make sure his Godfather told him the truth about why he had betrayed his parents. Now he just had to convince his Aunt to take him to visit, and have Hermione help him make a potion that he could mix into a butterbeer for Sirius Black.

Aunt Minerva and Professor Snape had been spending a lot of time together recently, and although they were careful to limit what they said around him, Harry knew that the subject was him. Snape had saved his life and cared about him, according to his Aunt.

 _As for the details of how his life had been saved and from what, neither of them would tell him that. Trying to have an argument with his Aunt was fruitless, she reminded him of a headmistress at a school that his other aunt and uncle had considered sending him to, a school for badly behaved boys were they caned unruly students. She had promised him with a laugh not to cane him if he misbehaved, but Harry wasn't inclined to test her as she was scary when she was angry._

"Harry?" a call came from the doorway, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see his Aunt standing there. "Yes Aunt Minerva?" he responded.

"How are you feeling? Professor Snape told me that yesterday was the last potion that you would require and that you should feel capable of doing things today."

Harry stood up, climbing out of bed with some effort. His legs shook for several moments as he got used to standing again. "I feel fine, better than I have ever felt again."

She smiled at that as she nodded. "That's because the potions finished the job that Healer Susan started. Your body is completely healed even your scar, which until your checkup, I thought could never be removed. I thought that you might want to try something completely new. If you can make it down the stairs on your own and into the dueling room, I will teach you some new magic." She left that last part on there as an incentive for him to make it into the basement.

Specially constructed while Harry was recovering, a dueling room had been placed in the basement of the house. It was reinforced as a measure of protection for the rest of the house. Spells in that room would stay sealed inside the room, even blasting spells. In fact, a large circle had been carved in the middle of the room and magic inside the room would only work inside of the circle. The rest of the room was covered in an anti-magic spell. Mad Eye Moony had created the dueling circle and the rest of the room personally, doing all of the warding himself. Spells that reached the edge of the dueling circle would fizzle out, protecting those who might be watching the duel.

As Harry made his way slowly down the basement steps, he heard voices drifting up to him.

"This is so bloody cool!" a male voice said.

"Knock it off, have some respect for the amount of work that went into making this room," a female voice scolded that voice.

A wide smile broke across his face as Harry hurried down the steps. Ron and Hermione were here!

Hermione was the first to notice him, engulfing him in a huge hug. "I was so worried when I heard, I mean I heard that you would recover but I…."

"We are glad you are okay mate," Ron summed up for Harry.

Harry looked around in wonder at the dueling room. He knew it had to be that because of the massive black circle lined with weird red runes. He shot a questioning glance at Hermione who sighed before shaking her heard. She didn't know what the runes were for either.

Her expression became serious as she let him go from the hug. "Harry listen, we don't have a lot of time before the adults come back."

Harry looked at her in wonder. Was Hermione suggesting that they break a rule? That was normally something they had to drag her into.

"Professor McGonagall has been kind enough to let me use the extensive library here and to allow me to borrow books to read. I discovered some of the most amazing things about the Wizarding World, and a number of spells that I can't wait to try out when we have proper adult supervision."

"Get to the point Hermione," Ron told her.

She blushed and nodded. "Right, so I have spent time at Ron's house and we got to talking about what we said about how we would always stand by your side. We still will of course, but…"

"Even if the adults give you special privileges because of who you are, we don't think they will extend to us as well," Ron finished up.

"They might make you promise that you won't share information with us because we will be seen as a risk," Hermione explained further.

"One of the books had a lot of bloody nasty ways to make someone tell what they know. There is this potion that you can slip into someone's drink and they will spill everything they know. We don't think they are going to risk their plans on wizards that can't resist that sort of thing." Ron told Harry. "I read about it in a book that Hermione borrowed."

Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron put on a hurt expression. "Hey, I read sometimes."

"The point Harry is we talked about what we could do to make it sure that you can always trust us. Ron came up with a brilliant idea there."

"The unbreakable vow," Ron explained as his face colored from the praise. "If we swear one, we will never be able to betray you. That way you can safely share the information with us."

"How do they work?" Harry asked the both of them after a few moments of silence to digest this.

"We get down on our knees with you, and one at a time we vow to stand by your side until the Dark Lord is defeated for good. We also promise never to reveal information you give us, without your consent." Hermione explained.

"We were thinking that we would vow never to share information with other non-Order of the Phoenix members, without your consent." Ron clarified.

"But what if we aren't considered members of the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked. "My Aunt was very clear that no underage wizards or witches would be allowed to join the Order. Does that mean we wouldn't be able to talk to each other?"

Hermione shook her head. "We considered that, but as long as you shared the information with us, we could talk to you about it without breaking the vow."

"What happens if you break an unbreakable vow?" Harry asked.

"You die," Ron answered. "When I was five, Fred and George tried to get me to swear an unbreakable vow with them. Dad walked in on us right before we were about to do it. It is the only time that I have seen dad lose his cool like mum sometimes does. Fred thought he was never going to sit down again after dad was done with him."

"Right, getting back on topic," Hermione began. _To her the idea of spanking was barbaric. Her parents had always reasoned with her when they needed her to do something._ "Do you want us to swear the vows to you, Harry?"

"It's not needed; I trust both of you with my life."

"Your father trusted his best friend, and he still betrayed him," Ron pointed out. "This would make it so that we could never betray you."

"We want to do this Harry," Hermione assured him. "We are aware of the risks and we believe it is worth it is so that we can fight alongside you when you confront Voldemort."

Seeing that he wasn't going to talk them out it, Harry agreed.

Ron and Harry got down on their knees, kneeling across from each other with their hands joined. Hermione had her wand out tapping it in both of their hands.

"Do you vow to fight by Harry's side through the entirety of the fight against Voldemort, always being there when he requires you and performing whatever tasks he sets for you?" Hermione asked Ron.

Ron nodded. "I do." With that a red jet of light shot from Hermione's wand, flowing around both the boys before being absorbed into Ron's skin.

"Do you vow to place Harry's life above your own and to always come to his aid in times of need?"

"I do." This time, a blue light shot out and again circled the boys before being absorbed into Ron's skin.

"Do you vow never to reveal information about the Order of the Phoenix, its members or plans that are given to you by Harry to non-Order members, unless Harry gives you consent to do so?"

For the third time, Ron answered, "I do." For the final a time a jet of light shot out of Hermione's wand, this time, black. It flowed around both boys and was absorbed into Ron's skin.

"My turn, "Hermione said as she switched places again.

Ron asked Hermione the exact same questions and got the exact same answers and results.

As Hermione was about to agree to the first vow, Professor McGonagall walked in. Her mouth dropped open as she saw what was going on. Still knowing better then to interrupt the ritual once it had begun, she stood quietly and waited. After they finished she coughed, gaining their attention.

All three of them spun around, each moving to draw the wands and Ron raising his, before lowing it quickly as he saw who it was.

"What exactly did you think you children were doing?" McGonagall scolded them. "Unbreakable vows are not a children's game and they can't be lifted until they are completed. You just put your lives at risk."

To everyone's shock, it was Hermione who stood proudly and answered. "We did what we had to."

"Had to? I don't understand Miss. Granger," Professor McGonagall said.

"Harry has to fight Voldemort, well he isn't going to do it alone now," Hermione explained.

"Foolish child, he was never going to do it alone. Do you think that I would allow my nephew to fight this kind of battle alone? Do you think that Professor Dumbledore would allow Harry to march into battle by himself? The Order will stand by his side, as they stood by the side of his parents."

"It is my fault Aunt," Harry said stepping forward. _He had to figure out a way to deflect the blame off of his friends. He was used to being punished anyway, so surely whatever horrible punishment his Aunt Minerva came up with, it wouldn't be worse than the abuse he had suffered at his old place._

"No! It was our idea," Hermione and Ron said together, not willing to allow the full wrath of Professor McGonagall to fall upon their friend.

"You might very well be the first people to ever lose points for your house before the school year even begins. Gryffindor might begin the year with negative points. I can assure you that when Professor Dumbledore gets here, he will hear about this."

Professor Dumbledore chose that moment to come down the stairs. "I will hear about what?" he said as he took stock of the room. "Surely not even Harry has managed to get up to serious trouble in the summer time." He took another look around. "Well I don't see a Mountain Troll lying on the ground, and this isn't the girl's bathroom in an off-limits area, so it can't be that bad. Do tell, though."

"They swore an unbreakable vow to him," McGonagall said as she pointed to Harry.

"Did they really now?" Dumbledore said, taking it in stride. "And what exactly did they swear to do?"

A thoughtful look came into his eyes as it was all explained to him. "Not bad at all," he muttered. "Needs a few small improvements, but it could solve one of our problems," he said mostly to himself. Focusing his attention on the others, he smiled. "Well, first I commend you, Miss. Granger for your astonishing ability to figure out how to perform magic that even some adults struggle to do. You might be the first student to ever win points for her house before the term even begins. I don't believe any house has ever begun with a positive score."

"Albus," McGonagall said in a warning tone.

"What? Oh yes what you did while frankly amazing for not even a second-year witch, was not a good idea. Has Professor McGonagall gone through the lecture about how this puts your lives at risk?"

"Yes sir," Hermione answered him a bit confused. She was getting scolded and praised at the same time, and frankly it felt…well, she didn't know how it felt exactly.

"We will have to include them like we planned to include Harry," Dumbledore announced after a few moments of consideration. "He is just going to tell them whatever he learns anyway. He trusts them utterly, it reminds me of James and his gang. James trusted each of them with his life. For all the good that did him. However, we need a way to make sure that the information stays in their mind and isn't broadcast everywhere."

"You are going to teach them Occlumency," McGonagall stated.

"Well, I came here to teach Harry that yes. And to turn over the signed permission from the Ministry of Magic to teach them magic in the summer. I got his friends included because I knew he would refuse to leave them out. Did I ever tell you about the time where…" he trailed off at her glare. "Well, perhaps that is a story for another time." He turned to Harry and his friends. Do any of you know what Occlumency is?"

Harry and Ron exchanged blank looks, but Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"It is the art of closing your mind to protect it against someone who is trying to attack it."

"Very good. I should have guessed that you would know about it. This is not something we normally teach, but if you are to be Order members, we must trust that you can close your minds and keep information to yourselves. All of the Order members must prove themselves by resisting attack before they are allowed to be given any important information. You want to be treated as something other than children, learning to close your mind will be an important first step. Normally I have Professor Snape teach this, but with the three of you, I will handle it myself," Dumbledore explained. "First though there is the matter of defending yourself. Only the most skilled can attack directly with their mind, all others require their wands to attempt an attack. Professor McGonagall if you would."

With that, Dumbledore stepped into the dueling circle, with Minerva following behind him. Soon they stood across from each other with their wands out. "Now pay close attention to this spell. It is quite useful." Nodding at Minerva he raised his wand and shouted out " _Expelliarmus!"_ Which caused her wand to fly out of her hand and over to him. "That is the disarming spell, very useful," he said as he tossed her wand back over to her. "Now she is going to attempt to hex me, and I will block her spell. I show you this because you will need to know how to defend yourself if someone such as myself attempts to invade your mind. Which I will be doing. You will have your wands out and I expect that you will do your very best to resist me."

McGonagall took over the next part of the lesson as she raised her wand. "This is the stunning spell, very useful when you want to end a fight quickly. " _Stupefy!"_ A red beam shot out of her wand, heading towards Dumbledore.

Dumbledore reacted quickly, however, raising his wand. " _Protego!"_ A silver shield appeared in front of him, causing the red jet of light to rebound off of it and shoot back at Professor McGonagall.

She was ready for this and had her own shield spell raised. When the red jet hit her shield, it faded away.

Both of them lowered their wands together. "So as you can see, dueling can be complex. No one is just going to stand still and allow their minds to be invaded. We don't expect you to either. Don't worry about hurting us, worry about defending yourselves and closing your minds," Minerva explained.

"To begin I want you each to think of a white void in the center of your minds. Nothing else matters but that white void. Focus entirely on that push your other thoughts away," Dumbledore explained.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron set to work on that.

* * *

 _Location Unknown: Near the end of summer._

Watching in his spirit form, Voldemort watched a small child playing in the woods near his house. He had been observing the family for a couple of weeks now and concluded that this was the perfect location to lay low and make plans to get his body restored. In the worst case situation, he could always wait for the child to grow up naturally and come into his own magically, with a core that would be enhanced by his presence. Then he could take full control when the time was right.

 _For now, though, he could only partly inhabit the body of the child. He had considered fully taking control, but doing so would rapidly degrade the body due to the influx of dark power. He could always find another body, but leaving a trail of dead children behind him seemed like an easy way to track his movements. Surely Dumbledore would be searching for him now, that he was aware of his existence once again. He wasn't ready to confront Dumbledore just yet. Dumbledore couldn't kill him, but he could likely find some way to hinder him anyway. Dumbledore was the only living wizard worthy of respect, someone who could almost match him in power. He had fooled him once, but Voldemort knew from experience how cunning his foe was. How many Death Eaters had he sent to kill the old wizard, and yet Dumbledore lived and those sent didn't. And the army he gathered around him last time was full of skilled wizards._

 _Still, he had been winning the war, winning when he had gone to kill the child with the power to one day take him down. Somehow the sacrifice of the mother had protected the child. Still protected the child. He would need to look into ways to overcome that protection before he struck at the child again._

 _For now, he considered his options. He could lay a very light touch on the child, directing him through dreams and visions. Part of the reason that he had chosen this family was because of the father's job. As an Auror who specialized in hunting down former Death Eaters, he had access to a treasure trove of dark magic. What wasn't well known was that he had kept several books and objects for his own private study. Those books could be useful, and it could be arranged for the child to stumble upon that knowledge._

 _The other riskier, option was to use wandless magic to control the parents of the child. Aurors however, were trained to shake off that sort of control, and it wouldn't do to have him break free. Also controlling both of them at once would strain his limited abilities in this form. He would have to draw upon the magical core of the child, which could put the child at serious risk if he drew too deeply. Since that couldn't happen through a random burst of magic, that might draw the attention of Dumbledore, who had spies everywhere._

Silently, Voldemort glided forward, his spirit making contact with the child and being absorbed into his body. Now he just had to wait. This was something he was good at. After all being immortal had its perks. He never had to worry about old age or death.

* * *

The rest of the summer passed quickly for Harry. Too quickly in fact. He was greatly enjoying the feeling of having a real home, of belonging, of being cared for. Spending almost every waking moment with his best friends also helped greatly improve his mood. This was like school, minus the classes, homework, and danger.

The remaining weeks of the summer involved a lot of studying for Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They spent a couple of hours each day working on closing their minds to outside probing. To their distaste, some of these lessons were taught by Professor Snape, who stood in while Dumbledore was away handling things. Snape was even meaner to them than he was in school, pulling embarrassing things out of their minds and sharing those things freely with the three of them. They weren't sure if that was intended to drive a wedge between them, but it only brought them closer. Through it all Hermione defended Snape's actions as teaching them the best way that he knew how.

At first, the progress seemed non-existent, but slowly they began to see signs of the progress that they were making. In their last session of the summer, they made a breakthrough. They were able to keep Snape out of their minds, shielding the thought that he was trying to retrieve.

After they took a break for lunch, they headed down into the basement for their last practice session on defensive magic. They had spent a lot of time in the basement practicing defensive magic.

Hermione as usual was the first to grasp the spells, and the first to master their use. Harry and Ron worked hard to catch up, each for different reasons.

For Harry, these spells were just stepping stones, the basics so that he could prove that he was ready to learn more advanced magic. The type of magic that would allow him to defeat Voldemort. Knowing the truth about what he had to face hadn't put a damper on his spirits, far from it in fact. Ever since he had been fully healed, he had felt lighter in both body and spirit. He had been marked, made by Voldemort into his equal. And he had power that Voldemort knew not. He just had to figure out what the power was. Harry could feel his power growing on a daily basis, something that his Aunt Minerva told him was because he was fully healed and able to harness his power to the fullest.

Ron was eager to keep up with Harry and Hermione, and his vow to Harry weighed heavily on his mind. He wouldn't be much use to Harry if he couldn't master simple defensive spells. Harry was the best mate that a person could ever wish for, and he wasn't going to let him down.

Still it wasn't all work for the trio. They had taken the time to begin to explore the massive library at Harry's house in search of more spells. In their search, they came across a book of fun spells, which they wasted no time turning on each other. After using the _Augamenti_ spell a couple of times in the house, they had been kicked out to go play outside. While outside they played a game of water tag using their wands which resulted in the three of them ending up soaked and falling on the ground laughing at how silly they looked.

* * *

Three days before the end of the summer, McGonagall woke them up early in the morning. She handed them their school letters detailing what they needed for the year. "We need to head over to Diagon Ally to get your school supplies. Ron, your parents and family will be meeting you there. Hermione, we are going to bring your parents there as well. Professor Dumbledore is headed to get them."

A couple of hours later they were in Diagon Ally doing their shopping.

"Stay close to me Harry." McGonagall told him.

"But…" Harry began.

"No arguments, it isn't safe for you yet. Lord Voldemort had his own private army known as Death Eaters. Several of whom managed to get away with their crimes despite our best efforts. If any of them were to learn that he is still alive, they would stop at nothing to strike back at the one who hurt their master.

"But…I thought they all went away. I mean I heard that Snape used to be one. I am not sure why Professor Dumbledore allows him to teach after he did that."

"Professor Snape," McGonagall corrected him sternly. "And Professor Snape saved your life. You should show him a bit of gratitude."

Harry had heard that, but he wasn't sure that he believed that Snape would try and save his life. Sure he knew that his Aunt wouldn't lie to him, but he still had a hard time coming to grips with it. "But why would they attack me with you here? I trust you to protect me. I am not worried about them with you around." Harry told his Aunt.

"You should be. They will kill you given the first chance. I will always do my best to protect you, but I have failed in that regard in the past. " she explained to him, a note of sadness entering her voice at that.

"That is why I have been learning to defend myself," Harry pointed out. "That is why I have been training with you, and Ron and Hermione have been as well.

"You aren't ready to fight them. Not yet," McGonagall told him. "None of you are, not even working together. Every single one of them are skilled wizards and witches. He wouldn't be fighting them or Lord Voldemort for a long time if she had anything to say about it, prophecy or no prophecy. "Headmaster Dumbledore is arranging for your long term security. But now you will stay close to me."

"I will Aunt," Harry promised smiling at her.

* * *

The night before he was due to go on the train, Harry took a final look around his room, making sure that he had packed everything he needed in his trunk. Their house elf had tried to do the packing for him, but Harry had insisted on doing it himself. As he rearranged his belongings one last time, he heard a pop in the air behind him. That must be our house elf. Making sure that his cloak was hidden under his school robes, Harry closed the trunk before turning around.

Sitting on his bed…it wasn't his house elf. "Hello. Who are you?" Harry asked, putting a smile on his face. Hermione had been going on about how they needed to be nicer to the house elves, and not take them for granted. She had been aghast when she learned that they worked for free, mumbling about equal rights.

Dobby spoke in a high squealing voice, his words running into one another as he spoke excitedly. "Harry Potter sir…I have waited a long to meet you sir. I am Dobby sir."

"Just Dobby? Whose house elf are you?" Harry questioned him.

"Dobby can't say. In fact, Dobby shouldn't even be here. Dobby will have to punish himself greatly for coming." Dobby started to look around for ways to punish himself.

Harry held up a hand to signal for him to hold on. "You don't need to punish yourself Dobby. I am happy to have you come visit me. Harry sat down in his desk chair, putting his feet up on his desk. "Did you just come by to meet me or did you have something you wanted to say to me?"

The house elf frowned at this. "Dobby has well…it is hard to know where to start." Tears leaked down his face as he spoke.

Harry felt a chill run through his body at Dobby's expression "Bad news?" he guessed.

Dobby nodded his head rapidly.

"Let me get my Aunt in here. She will want to hear it."

Dobby shook his head. "You can't Harry Potter. You can't. The message is only for you."

Harry gave the house elf another smile. "You will like her Dobby. She is very nice. She won't be mad at you. In fact, she will be happy that you are bringing the news here. I promise it will be okay."

He stood up, walking over to his door. As he did he heard a pop behind him. He spun around to see that Dobby was gone. Weird…

Harry attempted to open the door to his room only to find it stuck. _What the heck?_ He shook the door a bit as he turned the doorknob again, but it appeared that the door was locked, from the outside. Despite being unlocked on the inside. _How had someone managed that? He was…trapped. Trapped in his room again, just like his muggle Aunt and Uncle used to do to punish him. I am not helpless anymore_ , he told himself. Think Harry think. _What would Ron do in this situation…no what would Hermione do? He was on the second floor, so he couldn't climb out of the window._ Snapping his wand arm forward, Harry felt the wand slide from his arm holster into his hand. He had gotten a quick draw arm holster while shopping. His Aunt claimed that it would improve his response time in case he needed his wand quickly. He considered what sort of spell he should cast to open his door.

"Harry Potter can't leave. He must stay here," a voice behind him said.

Dobby was back.

Harry spun on him, frustration clear on his face. He made sure that his wand was lowered as to not threaten Dobby with it. "It is you who are trapping me in here Dobby?"

Dobby nodded with a sad expression on his face as he preached at the edge of Harry's bed. "It is for Harry Potter's own good that he stays here. He can't leave or he will be in danger," Dobby replied solemnly.

Harry put his wand away as he sat back down at his desk. "Dobby please sit down so we can talk."

This caused Dobby to burst into tears. "Me sit? A great wizard like you inviting Dobby to sit. Such kindness, I never."

Harry was at a loss at how to respond to this sudden outburst of tears.

As if he had given some sort of response, Dobby went on. "Dobby treated like an equal. Truly everything they say about you is true Harry Potter sir." He wiped away his tears as he sat down. "Dobby must ensure that Harry Potter is safe, that he stays home where it is safe."

"Dobby I have to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow," Harry told him. "Thank you for looking out for me, but I will be fine really. What could possibly threaten me once I am inside the school? All of the teachers will be there, including my Aunt and Professor Dumbledore."

"Harry Potter doesn't understand. He doesn't see the danger that he places himself in if he returns to school."

Clearly this wasn't working. And he had to use the restroom, which was down the hall. Harry decided to take a different tack. "If this danger you speak of is real, I can't let my friends face it alone. I have to be there to protect them."

"Truly a great and powerful wizard Harry Potter is. Always thinking about his friends before himself. But Dobby can't let the wizard that defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named put himself in danger."

"He's not…" Harry began to say before stopping himself. He wasn't going to be able to spread that around. That knowledge had to stay within a small group of people for right now, according to Professor Dumbledore. "It was nothing. I didn't even do anything," he said instead.

"So modest!" Dobby exclaimed. "So unlike the wizards that…" he trailed off as he banged his head against the bed post.

Harry sprung out of his chair and grabbed Dobby, pulling him away from the bed post. "Stop it Dobby, you don't need to punish yourself for wanting to protect me. I understand."

"Dobby almost spoke badly about his wizard family. That is forbidden."

Harry sat back down. "I don't understand. If you don't like the family you're with, can't you find another family to serve? Our house elf loves working for us."

Dobby shook his head sadly. "House elves are bound to the families that they serve. They have to be set free. And Dobby's family will never set him free. Dobby will serve them until he dies."

"How does a family go about setting a house elf free?"

"They have to give a piece of clothing."

"Dobby if I promise to be careful will you unlock my door please? I really need to use the bathroom."

Dobby shook his head at that. "Only if Harry Potter promises to stay home and not go back to Hogwarts. Harry Potter will be in mortal danger if he goes back to Hogwarts."

"What kind of mortal danger?" Harry questioned him.

"A plot of great evil."

"Can you be more specific please Dobby?"

Dobby shook his head sadly. "Dobby is already in lot of trouble for telling you this much. Dobby is breaking a lot of rules just being here," he said hiding his head in his hands.

"Please Dobby. I really need to know. Otherwise I am afraid that I will have to go back to Hogwarts."

"No! Harry Potter can't. Please."

"I will unless you give me more information," Harry said hiding a smile now. _Hermione would be proud at how clever he was being right now._

"Many horrible things will happen this year at Hogwarts. Dobby has known for months, but until now he hasn't been able to work up the bravery to come warn you. Dobby isn't brave like you are."

"That isn't true Dobby." Harry told him. "You are putting yourself at risk to tell me these things. That is very brave of you." He favoured Dobby with a smile. "Do you think you could be a bit braver and tell me what could get past Professor Dumbledore?"

"There are powers that he knows not. Even as great as he is, he…no respectable wizard knows about these things."

Harry started to respond to that when he heard his Aunt's voice outside his door. She was knocking on his door.

"Harry? It is bedtime," she began as she tried to open his door. "Harry why is your door locked? Is everything okay?"

"Dobby hide quickly, or vanish or something," Harry hissed at him. "That is my Aunt. She will be upset if she learns that you locked me in here."

Minerva frowned as Harry didn't answer. She pulled out her wand. " _Alohomora_ ," she said as she pointed at the door. To her shock, the door didn't open. "Harry!" she called out louder.

"I am here Aunt," he answered.

"Why isn't your door unlocking?"

"I don't know. I have been trying to get out myself but it just locked suddenly and it won't unlock," Harry answered as he looked to see if Dobby was still on his bed. He wasn't. He hated to lie to his Aunt, but he didn't want to get Dobby in trouble for just trying to do what the house elf thought was the right thing.

"Stand back up against the wall," Minerva ordered him.

Harry quickly complied. "Okay Aunt," he called out.

Raising her wand again she took a step back as she pointed at the door. " _Expulso_!" she shouted. A bolt of blue light shot out of her wand. When it made contact with the door it blew it off its hinges, sending it flipping over. Wand still drawn she rushed in looking around. "What happened Harry?" she said after she confirmed that they were indeed alone. Putting her wand away she rushed over to give him a hug.

He returned the hug as he shrugged. "I don't know Aunt. Like I said I tried to use the bathroom and I found that I was stuck in my room. I guess it happened right after I had a visitor."

Shock bloomed on McGonagall's face. "You had a visitor? Impossible. No one could get past the wards without alerting me."

"His name was Dobby," Harry said as broke the hug to go use the bathroom. When he returned Minerva was sitting on his bed.

"Dobby is the name of a house elf," she said.

He nodded at this. "You know him?"

"No. But it explains how he got past the wards. They aren't meant to keep out house elves." From the look on her face it was clear that was an oversight that would be corrected shortly. "What did he want?"

"To warn me. He wanted me to not go back to Hogwarts."

She schooled herself, breathing deeply to stay calm. "Why? What is the danger in you going back?"

"He talked about a massive plot, a great danger to the school. He mentioned powers that good wizards know not," Harry explained. "I guess I am in personal danger as well. But I want to go back to Hogwarts, I have to go back," he pleaded with his Aunt.

"Don't worry about that. You will be on the train tomorrow. Although maybe I should bring you personally. As for this evil plot, I will get to the bottom of it personally. No one is going to threaten you or any of the students at my school."

"I would rather go on the train," Harry replied. "My friends will be there."

Minerva smiled at this. "That will be fine. I shouldn't tell you this ahead of time, but the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor will be on the train as well. His name is Professor Lupin and he is an old friend. Professor Dumbledore asked him to teach as a personal favor. He is quite capable of handling any evil plots that might occur on the train." She walked over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Now get some sleep Harry, we have to get up early tomorrow."

"Goodnight Aunt Minerva."

"Goodnight Harry."

* * *

The next morning, they arrived at King's Cross in plenty of time, and they waited around for Hermione and Ron to arrive. Harry waved to Ron as he saw him approach. "Ready for another school year?" he asked him.

"Not bloody likely," Ron said with a grin. "But you know that Hermione already has study guides drawn up and she has taken detailed notes on all of our school books this year."

"About that Ron. I was thinking that we should make more effort in school this year, and not just coast by on Hermione's work," Harry told him.

Ron looked at him like he had just grown a second head. "You can't be serious mate."

Harry nodded. "I am serious. Look, we need to start taking school seriously. Given the danger that we are in, given the prophecy I have to learn as much as I can so I can defend myself. You should do the same so that you are safe when they come for you as well. I know that Hermione plans to double down on the studying this year. It will be annoying mate, but not as annoying as not be prepared when the time comes. We can't just learn in the summer time."

Ron gave him a considering look before nodding. "You are right." He flashed Harry a grin. "Besides it will make mum happy if I get good marks."

"Ready to go on the train?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded at that.

"If you see Hermione, we need to find an empty compartment, I have news for both of you."

Together they stepped through the barrier and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Ahead of them was the Hogwarts Express.

* * *

~ Meanwhile Elsewhere~

A kneeling figure glanced up at the temporary face of his lord and master before returning his face to the ground. He fixed his mind on the honor of being summoned, of being able to look upon the Dark Lord in his moment of recovery. Out of all those who had recanted, claimed that were under the spell of another after the setback that their Dark Lord suffered, he had never wavered in his belief that one day his master would return stronger than ever. Death after all was immortal, and as one who worshiped the aspects of Death, he knew his master had figured out a way to overcome it. Still his master couldn't be pleased by the actions of the others, and when he wasn't pleased, people around him suffered.

"What is your bidding my Lord?" he asked.

"I have…a request of you," Voldemort said in a soft spoken voice. He had been forced to dispose of the parents of this body when they began to notice something was wrong with their child. Doing so had required taking full control. In turn, that had caused his magical core to intertwine with the child's. His was the stronger and would come out on top, but the process of that inner struggle was literally dissolving this body around him. The sharing process worked much better in adults, he had been foolish to try it with a child. Soon this body would expire and he would need a new one to inhabit.

"Anything my Lord," the kneeling figure said, still not daring to risk another glance-up.

"Look upon my face. Look at the conditions I am forced to endure," Voldemort commanded.

The kneeling figure looked up. He shuddered at what he saw. The body that his master was borrowing was literally burning up from the inside out. The skin of the body was beginning to blacken and blister, and the eyes…they were an evil red. The entire effect made him look even more demonic than usual.

"I must have my body back," Voldemort continued after allowing his servant to have long look at him.

"I…don't understand my Lord. How will you get your body back?" the Death Eater asked him.

"That isn't your worry. You are here for a different reason. You are my most devoted servant. I have a task for you that will push your skills to the very limits."

"I will complete the task or die trying," the kneeling figure promised him.

Voldemort gave a pained chuckle at that. "No death isn't required. To the contrary I need you very much alive. I want you to go undercover."

"Undercover my Lord?" That wasn't how they usually operated. At least not that he was aware of.

"You will be insurance for my plans. I require that Harry Potter live, not only live but thrive," Voldemort explained.

"How will I gain access to him my Lord? Surly they must be very careful who is allowed into his inner circle."

"You will become one that they trust," Voldemort answered with another chuckle. "It is of course the perfect plan."

The Death Eater laughed along with his master. "How could it not be when you came up with it? So I will need a large store of the potion to maintain the appearance."

Voldemort shook his head at that. "There is another way. What I ask of you isn't so simple."

"I will do whatever you require of me. I have always been your most loyal of servants."

"It isn't enough to impersonate your target. You must become your target in every way. I have access to ancient magic that will transfer your life force into their body. Are you ready?"

Without hesitating, the man smiled. "I am my lord." Visions of glory were dancing through his head he spoke. This would be a task like no other, and when he was finished he would be elevated so that he was second only to his Lord in power.

"The subject is in the room. Probe their mind, don't be gentle. When you are finished I will be in to transfer your life force. Remember that you can't fake any part of this. Only in the deepest darkest corner of your mind will you store your true mission. The rest of you must become the person. I will teach you to seal that part of your mind away, against even a force such as Dumbledore."

The Death Eater scoffed at that. "Him? He is an old man. A shell of the wizard that he once was."

Voldemort raised his wand. " _Crucio_!" Before him the Death Eater doubled over as if he had been shot. Raising the wand, a bit higher up, he caused his servant to wither in pain on the ground. "Fool. Even if that were true, the person you are going to become has nothing but the utter most respect for Dumbledore. Even to the point of suffering the delusion that he is somehow my equal as a wizard. Those thoughts must become your thoughts. You must believe it to the very core of your being. Otherwise you will never be able to fool Dumbledore. Do you know what makes Snape such an effective spy? Why Dumbledore protected him and allowed others to rot? Because he believes it fully Snape is so convincing that he has fooled one of the greatest wizards to ever live. Do you understand?"

"Yes my Lord…" the Death Eater ground out through his pain."

Voldemort lowed his wand, allowing the Death Eater to climb shakily to his feet. "Now make your preparations. You have three hours. That is all the time I can give you in this body. I will need another host before I can continue your training."

"I offer mine my Lord," the Death Eater said quickly.

"You would give up your very existence for me?" Voldemort questioned with a smirk on his face.

"Gladly if required my Lord, but that isn't what I meant," the Death Eater responded. "My body will be an empty vessel once the transfer is complete. Your life force can reside there without displacing me," he clarified.

"Good, you have taken steps to redeem yourself for your earlier foolishness. I accept your offer. Now I will leave you to your work while I get ready for the ritual."

* * *

 _A/N: I am toying with the idea of longer chapters. But, they will take longer to complete which means less uploads for you. Let me know what you think a proper balance between chapter length and upload time is._

 _Next Chapter, back to school._

* * *

 _Glossary_

 _Alohomora: Door unlocking spell._

 _Augamenti: Shoots a jet of water out of the tip of the wand._

 _Crucio: One of the unforgivable curses. Causes great pain to the person it targets. The spell litterally tourtures the victim._

 _Expulso: Causes the target to explode._

 _Stupefy: Stunning spell._

 _Protego: Shield Charm. Protects against most minor spells and curses. How much/well it protects depends on the abilities of the caster._

 _Expelliarmus: Disarming spell._


	4. Chapter 4-The Chamber Opens

**Childhood's End**

 **Chapter 4- The Chamber Opens**

 **Year 2**

 _Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter Universe things would have been done smarter. Kind of like…well this. Sadly, I own nothing._

* * *

~ _Headmasters Office: Hogwarts~_

McGonagall stormed into the office, barking the password of "lemons rolls" at the statue. _Surely he hadn't known about Harry being a Horcrux, but if he hadn't why had he suggested a check-up for Harry?_ _She had to know one way or another. Either way his habit of keeping secrets from everyone had to end. Especially from her as it related to Harry. He had some sort of master plan for Harry, she had known that from the beginning. Quite frankly she didn't give a damn what his bloody plans were, she would do whatever it took to protect Harry._

Dumbledore looked up from the paperwork on his desk as McGonagall walked in. "Minerva it is so good to see you. What brings you by my office?"

"How long did you know? How long? When were you planning on telling me that Harry was a Horcrux?" McGonagall all but yelled at him.

Dumbledore sighed. _This was a conversation that he had been expecting and had already made plans to handle. A simple explanation and he would be able to calm her down enough to see reason, for her to see that he had only been working with the hand that he was dealt._ "I didn't know for sure," he answered calmly. "I only had a guess that part of Voldemort's soul had been transferred when he failed to kill Harry. It explains the connection between the two of them and Harry's scar hurting. It also explains why Voldemort has a hard time with even touching Harry. Snape told me what the two of you did, the lengths that you went to save Harry and remove the Horcrux. I have to say that was a very foolish choice Minerva. If Harry had died from the procedure, our entire fight would have been lost. "

"What other secrets are you hiding about Harry Albus? I told you when I adopted him that I wasn't going to play games with his safety."

"I…" Dumbledore stopped and looked at her. "Do you swear not to divulge what I am about to tell you to Harry? The time is not yet right for him to know. Besides it is only a guess at this point. A strong guess, but a guess none the less."

This came down to if she still trusted him, trusted him with Harry's safety even after everything that had happened. And McGonagall found that she did. "I promise," she responded. "Now go on with what you have to say about my Godson."

"Voldemort made a mistake," Dumbledore began. "One he isn't even aware of. Have you noticed that as skilled as Miss Granger is, that Harry still has her outclassed in raw power?"

"He had her outclassed before as well," McGonagall pointed out.

"Yes but not to this degree. Between the two of us, when I was showing Harry the basics, showing him stunning and shield spells, he did something that was very impressive. And quite embarrassing. More so as he doesn't even understand the implications of what happened down in the basement of your house. He believes he got lucky. His shield spell was so powerful that it physically knocked me backwards. That was his unleashed magic activating all at once. As you will recall, he spent the next three days in bed recovering. I am one of the most powerful Wizards to ever live, and yet an 11-year-old boy had me dead to rights."

McGonagall's eyes narrowed as she worked through the implications of this information. "Voldemort transferred part of his power to Harry, enhancing his magical core. But that enhancement is gone, the Horcrux is safely removed and Harry is more powerful than ever. Why?"

"Ah well, I have a theory about why that is. You see Harry's magical core was feeding off the Horcrux as much as the Horcrux was feeding off of him. For 12 years he was absorbing Voldemort's power through the Horcrux. Now that his core is fully unleashed, he is more powerful than ever. In his full growth, he will rival myself and Voldemort." Dumbledore paused here, considering…"No, rival is the wrong word. He will exceed us. Possibly by a considerable margin. For now, he can only tap into bits and pieces of that power when his magic feels threatened. But in time with proper training, he will learn to fully control it."

"So Voldemort made a mistake by enhancing Harry's magic?" McGonagall asked to be sure.

"No, he made a mistake by setting up the Horcrux ritual in the first place before he attempted to kill Harry. The piece of his soul went the only place it could, into Harry's body. But now it is removed, and we will find a way to kill it."

"I fail to see how that is relevant," McGonagall told him.

"If, and I stress if, I am correct, Voldemort has broken the connection, the bond between the two of them. They are no longer magically linked."

Dumbledore put his hands together on the desk. "Moving on to other matters, I have been giving the state of the school some serious thought as it relates to the plans of the Order. Harry will need an army at his back, an army capable of battling a new generation of Death Eaters if he is to have any hope of even reaching Voldemort to kill him. The Order lost too many members in the first war, and I am not sure that all of the remaining members will answer my call when I give it."

"Then his army has to come from his fellow students," McGonagall reasoned. "You have plans already set in motion. Without consulting me or informing me," she accused him. "That is why you hired Lupin."

"Guilty as charged," Dumbledore answered. "My plan is to keep an Order member in the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, that way we can prepare the next generation for the war that they will play a major role in. Also Voldemort surely won't be the last dark Wizard to rise up, and someone needs to protect the magical world when we are gone."

"Why not make several changes at once, instead of just the one?" McGonagall questioned him.

"Such as?"

"Polices to remove and weed out possible future Death Eaters." She held up a hand to stop his protests. "I know you want to see the good in everyone, the belief that everyone can be redeemed. But I will not allow you to endanger Harry or the others because of you wanting to see the good in everyone."

"You speak of Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked her, knowing full well that she did.

"Yes, him and his gang. To that end I suggest stricter punishments on bullying. And Albus, that goes for the teachers who bully as well. I will not allow Snape to treat Harry like crap." She sighed as she settled down into her chair. "This used to be easier in the old days, when corporal punishment was still allowed in the schools. Much has changed, not all of it for the good."

"You never got in any trouble as a student did you? You never experienced the school corporal punishment first hand did you Minerva?" Dumbledore said with a teasing tone in his voice.

"I got it enough at home to know I didn't want it at school," she replied. "Now I also suggest that all point deductions be appealable to you. That way some professors can't continually take points from my house." She didn't name a name this time, but they both knew that she was referring to Snape.

"I like it. You manage to set things up to benefit your house even in the mist of the serious situation that we are in." Dumbledore answered.

"I believe that a famous old wizard once said "If you aren't happy with the rules of the game you are playing, change the game," she said with a slight bow.

"There was an American muggle born wizard who said "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," Dumbledore replied. "It is because of him that wizards and witches aren't allowed to play or coach in muggle sporting leagues."

"So, are we agreed then?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I will announce the changes at the school feast."

* * *

~Hogwarts Express~

The trio of second years searched for a compartment to claim on the train. Spotting an almost empty one, they entered and locked it behind them since the rest were either full or had potential listening ears they didn't want to be listening to them. In the compartment was an adult which confused the trio. Regardless, they noticed he was asleep and figured he was the next teacher teaching defense against the dark arts. Leaving him alone, they started talking to each other in hush whispers.

"So, what's the news you wanted to tell us, Harry?" Ron asked. "I've been dying to know."

"Ok, listen, I was visited by a house-elf. It wasn't any of Aunt Minerva's house elves," Harry finally told them.

"Wait, that shouldn't have happened, Harry," Hermione interrupted. "Aren't there wards to keep them out? Does it mean-?"

"No Hermione," Harry quickly said. "The wards are fine. They protect me from other wizards. Aunt Minerva explained that these wards don't apply to house elves. She said she's working on that to see if they can be prevented. So, this house elf named Dobby showed up-"

"You know his name?!" Ron interrupted, sounding very surprised.

"Will you two stop interrupting me? He introduced himself to me, alright?! Maybe we could figure out what house he's come from based on his name, but who knows where. Anyway, we're not talking about why a house elf got in my bedroom nor what else he did say to me!"

Harry took a break to calm his frustration breathing a bit harshly. When he calmed down and saw that neither of his friends were going to interrupt him, he continued, "What troubles me, and I already told my Aunt this is that he came to warn me."

Hermione took the pause to say, "You told her?"

Harry sighed. "I have to since she also saw him. I don't know what she planned on doing, but it's a start. I am also telling this to you two as well. He spoke of a plot; some great danger will happen to the school."

"Isn't that new?" Ron added, sarcastically. "Did he explain what that danger was?"

"If I knew, Ron, I would have said it rather than some vague terms. Dobby was very insistence to keep me at my Aunt's home rather than go to school and ran off when she appeared. I may need help in case he shows up or tries something stupid."

A knock interrupted them, and they looked at the window. They were quick to spot a young girl with red hair in a black uniform befitting a first year that hadn't been sorted.

"Ginny!" Ron cried out. "What did she want? Get out!"

Then, they spotted another young girl wearing the same clothes as Ginny but with blond hair.

Hermione glares at Ron. "They can't technically hear you." She got up and opened the door. "Do you two want something?"

"Hello, you're Ron's friend," Ginny said to her. "I don't mean to be a bother, but some other students were picking on her." She indicated the blond first year. "I can't find a good compartment for her, so can we stay here?"

"Sure," Hermione told her and let them inside.

Ron was absolutely shocked that they were let in and hissed her name at her.

Harry was also surprised but remained quiet, looking over the two girls.

Ginny entered, blushing and looking away from Harry while the blond girl appeared to be not really looking at anything.

Hermione was quick to introduce herself and her group to the girls noticing how they reacted to Harry's name.

Ginny blushed brighter and trying to avoid eye-contact with him and hiding her face while the blond girl didn't react much at all.

She noticed him alright along with Ron but remained quiet.

"So, um," Hermione continued, trying to break the sudden quiet. "What is your companion's name?"

"...She's Luna," Ginny finally spoke.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," the blond girl finally told them. "Why is there an adult on the train? Are they allowed here?"

"U-um, that's R. J. Lupin. I'm assuming he's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione told them. She knew who he was because she had seen his picture in some book, but she couldn't place where exactly. "Uh, no, this is the first time I have seen an adult here."

"Alright, Hermione," Ron intruded, having enough of the girls talking. "Why don't you help them find a suitable compartment? We do have other things to discuss."

"Ron, one of them is your younger sister. Besides, it's a long train ride there and we can discuss this some other time."

"Ron is kind of right, Hermione. We do need to plan-" Harry said.

"Seriously, Harry? It's not like they are attacking the second we walk right out of the train. Besides, how can we tell if the other places will look after them better than here?"

"Because it's me that's here? I am in danger, and who knows if Voldemort-"

The moment Harry mentioned the dreaded name, he got shrieks from the girls and Ron hissing at him.

Only Hermione was unfazed by the name.

The girls didn't stop their screams which woke up Lupin.

"What is going on?" he asked, his voice rising above the girls' screams. That shut up everyone, and they looked at the now awake teacher.

"S-sorry, professor," Harry said. "We were discussing what to do since these girls were picked on."

Lupin sighed. "Bullies towards first year? Alright, I'll handle them. Can you two lead me to who hurt you?" The girls nodded and were led out by Lupin.

"Well, that was easy," Ron said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, don't be rude, Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You were quite eager to get rid of them!"

"Calm down, Hermione. I'm just happy the teacher is out of earshot. So, Harry, what do we do about this house elf from attacking you?"

Hermione had more to say but held her tongue.

"Well, I don't have many ideas, but I'm sure Dobby won't come if I'm not alone," Harry said, starting up the discussion.

"That's it!" Ron was excited having an idea.

"What's it, Ron?" Hermione asked, unsure of what idea Ron had.

"If we needed to catch Dobby, we needed bait. The bait's you, Harry. It's just like chess where the other player would trap or bait with their pieces! When Dobby comes to Harry thinking he's alone, we then can be ready and stun him!" Ron had a big smile, gleeful of the plan he came up with.

"Oh! Then, we can take him to Dumbledore or maybe Professor McGonagall! They can get the truth from him of what's coming!" Hermione added, excitedly.

"Must you ruin it, Hermione?"

"Well, that's a good start up plan," Harry interrupted before he had to suffer another argument from them. "We'll refine it later. Let's get our robes on..."

* * *

~Hogwarts Great Hall: Night of the Sorting~

Harry, Ron and Hermione grabbed their usual seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Do you think your sister will get sorted into Gryffindor?" Hermione asked Ron.

He nodded at that. "Without a doubt. Every single member of my family has been in Gryffindor. We would have to disown her if she got sorted into another house."

"Ron!" Hermione snapped at him.

"I was just joking," he said holding up his hands to ward off the chance of her hitting him.

Harry allowed the byplay between his two friends to wash over him as he drank in the sights around him. It was great to be back at Hogwarts. As much as he had enjoyed his summer with his Aunt, this still felt like his first home. He was looking forward to a great year despite the warning from Dobby. They had a plan, and they would handle him when he returned. If he returned. If he could get into Hogwarts in the first place. Because of Hermione's urging, he had finally read Hogwarts A History over the summer and he had learned all kind of cool things about the wards that the school had placed around it. For example, it wasn't possible to directly teleport onto the school grounds. Or from the school grounds.

Ginny of course was sorted into Gryffindor, but the real surprise of the evening was Luna Lovegood. She was also sorted into Gryffindor. She sat down next to them beaming. "The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but I convinced it to put me in Gryffindor with you. I have this feeling that this is where I am meant to be."

The hall quieted down as Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Greetings students and welcome to another year. I know that everyone is eager to eat and retire to their common rooms, but before you can, I have a few important announcements to make." He smiled at the crowd of students as he spoke. "Now first I would like to inform the first years and remind the older students that the use of magic in the hallways between classes is forbidden. Several items have been added to the list of forbidden items list. Should you somehow come into possession of those items, and wish to turn them in punishment free, you can do so by seeing the head of your respective house. The list of these items is posted in each of the common rooms." Dumbledore turned towards Lupin. "It is my honour to introduce you to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin."

Everyone clapped as Professor Lupin stood up briefly before sitting back down.

Harry noted that he was wearing a much better set of robes than he had been wearing on the train. These were clean and fit him correctly, the blue robes allowing him to strike an imposing figure. He was also clean shaven and clean now.

"After consulting with the heads of houses, we have decided on some policy changes at Hogwarts that are effective as of this moment. First, due to situations in the Wizarding World, your education has been completely revamped. You will find that most of your classes now have more wand work and less theory."

He paused to let the cheers and clapping from that announcement die down before carrying on. "Second, we have decided to crack down on bullying in Hogwarts. Punishments for a first bullying offense have been doubled." Dumbledore paused changing the tone of his voice as he spoke. "There will be no second bullying offenses. Do not test me on this." For a brief moment, the entire Great Hall could see why Dumbledore was the only wizard that Voldemort had ever feared to tangle with.

Then he relaxed again smiling. "Finally, all point gains and losses will now be reviewed by myself or Professor McGonagall. If you believe you have received an unfair removal of points, please do not hesitate to come see either of us. My door is always open for students who need me. Now enough of my droning on, let's eat!"

* * *

~Defense Against the Dark Arts Class~

The first class for the Gryffindor Second Years the next morning was double Defense Against the Dark Arts, with the Slytherins. Stil,l Harry woke up ready to see what the new lessons would bring. Especially in his best subject. When he got done into the common room he found Hermione and Ron deep in conversation.

"I know about him," Ron insisted. "Dad told me about him. Professor Lupin was one of a group that hung out together. Dad says he was a model student and is a very powerful Wizard. But he has a health issue that hurts his job chance."

Hermione shook her head at that. "If he had health issues why would Professor Dumbledore hire him to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? That job isn't the best for anyone's health. There hasn't been a teacher that's' lasted more than a single year in the job in many years."

"He used to hang out with my dad and mom, mainly my dad," Harry interjected into the conversation.

They both turned to look at him. "Aunt Minerva told me a bunch about my parents," he said as a way of explaining how he knew this. "I think that he was given the job because he is an ally of Professor Dumbledore."

Hermione looked around before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Do you think that he was in the first Order?"

Harry considered for half a second before nodding. "Yeah it makes sense."

"Maybe his other reason for being at the school is to protect you," Ron guessed. He started to chuckle as he spoke. "He scared the bloody hell out of the bullies that bothered my sister. I heard they had to change their robes after he was done with them. Ginny wouldn't say exactly what he did, but she gets a big grin every time she thinks about it."

"I just hope he is a good teacher. We need to learn everything we can," Hermione said as they headed to the classroom.

They were among the first students into the class and they noticed that the tables had been configured in rows, with two tables in each row and each table having room for three seats. They sat at the left most table, with Harry sitting in the middle, Hermione on the left and Ron on the right. They pulled their books out of their bags.

The rest of the class filled in slowly, and finally Professor Lupin himself came in. He took one look at his classroom and smiled. "Books away. You won't need them today. Instead pull your wands out." He pulled out his own wand and pointed at the board. Writing appeared there explaining the about the stunning spell."

He held up his hand to stop the copying of information off the board. "Don't bother writing this down, it won't be on the test. I mostly care about your ability to do the spells. I will only teach you theory when it is required for next year's class or when it helps you understand the practical part of actually casting the spell."

Hermione froze with her quill halfway to her paper. She put her quill down and pulled out her wand.

"Now, as you can see by the information on the board behind me, today we will be learning the stunning spell. Repeat after me. _Stupefy_."

" _Stupefy_ ," the class responded together.

"Now I will show you what happens when the spell is cast correctly. His eyes scanned the classroom before settling on Harry. "Mr. Potter please come to the front of the classroom. Bring your wand."

Harry nodded as he headed up to stand next to Professor Lupin.

"If I understand correctly you have some experience with dueling Harry?"

"Yes sir. My Aunt has taught me a few things," he said softly.

"Just want I wanted to hear." He waved his wand to activate the wards in the classroom. A shield sprung up to block off the rest of the classroom from the two of them. Another wand wave and Lupin's desk and chair were put in the corner of the room out of the way. "Now we have room to have a quick duel."

Harry gasped at this. "But sir, I am not ready for something like that."

"Nonsense Harry. I heard all about your exploits last year. You defeated a Mountain Troll, and that was only the start of what you were able to do."

Harry blushed at the praise. "I had help. A lot of help."

"Ah yes, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley. Nevertheless, I am sure you will do great. Turn and face me Harry, raising your wand. I want you to try and stop me from stunning you. Feel free to use any of the spells that you have learned thus far. I will only use a single spell, the stunning spell." He turned to the class. "And what spell is that again?"

" _Stupefy_ " the class answered.

"Ready Harry?" At Harry's nod he went on. "On three. One, two, three!" Right away Lupin raised his wand, but delayed enough to give Harry the first spell. It would be interesting to see what the boy was capable of, and how far he had yet to go to become a real threat.

" _Expelliarmus_ ," Harry shouted as he also raised his wand. A bright red light shot at out, aimed directly for Professor Lupin.

To the shock of the classroom, Professor Lupin made no attempt to defend against the spell as it went right towards him, instead he stepped to the side at the very last moment, causing the spell to miss him. "Good job. Again Harry,' he encouraged.

" _Petrificus Totalus_ ," Harry shouted out.

This time Professor Lupin made a lazy downward slashing motion with his wand, blocking Harry's spell and rendering it ineffective. Keeping his wand up in a defensive position he spoke to the class. "What two spells did Mr. Potter just cast?"

Hermione was the first to raise her hand and Lupin called upon her. "The disarming charm and the full body bind charm."

"Very good Miss Granger. Take ten points for Gryffindor." He turned his full attention back to Harry. "Got anything else to try and throw at me or is that all you have learned in a year of being a Wizard?"

Harry thought for a few moments before pulling a spell from the book of spells that he had studied over the summer. " _Densaugeo_!"

Once again Lupin blocked it with his wand, laughing as he did so. "The teeth growing charm? Really? If that is the extent of your knowledge, it is time to carry on with the class." He raised his wand. " _Stupefy_ " A scarlet light shot out of Lupin's wand hitting Harry in the chest and causing him to crumple to the ground. He lowered his wand as he turned his attention back to the classroom. "That is how you stun someone. Now you are going to pair up and practice the spell on each other. But before you do, I need to teach you the counter spell. He pointed his wand at Harry. "Repeat after me. _Rennervate_!"

" _Rennervate_ " the class repeated.

Right away Harry woke up groaning at the pain in his head.

Lupin sighed. "Right I should have created a soft area for you to fall on. Sorry about that. This is my first time ever teaching a class, so you will have to bear with me." He raised his wand again and the entire floor of the room was covered by soft mats. "Now pair off. Mr. Potter, you go practice with Miss Granger."

* * *

 _~Potions class~_

"Man, was that awesome or what!" Ron was very pleased by Lupin and how he taught the class, clearly eager to return. "All that training during the summer paid off, didn't it Harry?"

"It have, Ron. We all did well." Harry included Hermione about them being able to learn the stunning spell. "In fact, I have seen the other students doing well too."

"It is surprising," Hermione added. "It's rare seeing you so focused, Ron."

"Hey, I know a good class when I see one," Ron replied, smiling.

They continued to discuss the class they had as they walked to the next: Potions. They found the dungeons easily enough, walking down the stairs to their class. None of them were enthusiastic to see Snape.

They arrived to class a little early and set up near each other as they waited. All the students were in various ranges of boredom, contempt, and terrified. Neville being under the abuse of Snape were one of the students scared of Snape.

Malfoy swaggered in with his two thugs behind him. "Well if it isn't the Potter boy who was horribly beaten by his Aunt and Uncle. Poor little Potter boy," he mocked his rival.

"Take that back," Ron told him sternly.

"Or what? Is the ginger going to turn all red in his face, and get angry?" Malfoy mocked them.

"Nope we are going to report you for bullying. That way when you slip up because you're a smug, stupid git, you will have to face Headmaster Dumbledore and get expelled. And we will laugh as you have to leave the school with your tail between your legs," Hermione answered.

"Professor Snape will never believe you," Malfoy sneered. "You will lose points if you even try to report it."

"Well you were right about the stupid part," Harry said to Hermione.

"Not only stupid, but dense as well," she confirmed. Turning to Malfoy she gave him a wicked grin. "His Aunt is Professor McGonagall. Who do you think she is going to believe when we go tell her?"

Malfoy started to reply, but at that moment Snape walked in.

As expected, Snape walked in with his dramatic flair that shut everyone up as he walked to the front of his class. "Since this is the first day back, I have you all paired up for our potions making today. If you have forgotten over the summers, we are not having ridiculous wand waving, incarnation, or any that doesn't relate to this class. Starting up today, we are making a Truth Serum. There's a powerful one called _Veritaserum,_ but I don't expect second years to make that. Instead we are making a weaker version-" He waved his wand and the instructions were quickly listed on the nearby blackboard. "Before you get partnered up, can anyone tell me what the difference between the two potions is?"

No one was surprised to see Hermione's hand up, but it did take her a few seconds to come up with the answer. Snape looked sour in picking her, but he did. "The weaker versions of the Truth Serum can be resisted by a strong mind compared to Ver-Verit-"

" _Veritaserum_ ," Snape said, cutting her off. It wasn't unusual that he didn't award points to her, but he neither took points away or made fun of her. "Which nobody in this class can do except me. Because I know how to close my mind against all manner of attacks. I may just feed you your potions if anyone dares to make a mess or disrupt the class. Partner up and get started. You will not be able to finish this in current class time. I will expect them to be completed by next class." He pointed out where he wanted everyone to stop at on the board before moving on to his desk.

Harry and Ron were quick to partner up while Neville pleaded with Hermione to help him. With all four on the same table of two caldrons, they attempted to whisper about their plans whenever Neville went to get ingredients.

"Who knew that we are able to get an answer on the first day!" Ron said.

"What do you mean, Ron?" Harry asked as he was trying to focus on writing down the instructions. The print was hard to read.

"The potions! If we create the Truth Serum-"

"We can feed Dobby ourselves," Hermione finished, having been listening. "Is that what you're going to say? That's a load of rubbish. We shouldn't force him nor make this."

"Hermione..."

"Calm down, Ron," Harry interrupted. "First we should look up that potion he mentioned before deciding anything. He's a house elf that got through the wards."

"It's just a house elf! I'm sure they aren't resistant to the potions."

"Are you sure, Ron?" Hermione asked. "Do we even know anything about house elves? Ugh, wizards forcing them to do housework! Why did that happen?"

"Hermione, they love the job."

"Unlikely conclusion!"

It was fortunate that they had started this conversation when Neville got back and Harry quickly stopped their argument and focused on the class work. Ron still was insisting about his idea whenever he could. Harry however was worried what Hermione was up to with the house elves. He didn't dare tell her how they could be freed.

So, the rest of the class time went without much incident. They stored the cauldrons where Snape specified and left.

* * *

The first month flew by as they tried to figure out the right time to spring a trap on Dobby and how to best go about it. They got settled into all of their classes, and they found that Professor Snape was being nicer to all of them. Hermione insisted that they were giving him a fair chance this year, which they hadn't last year, and that was the difference.

Harry had just turned in from another long day of classes. Defense Against the Dark Arts had been pushing them hard. He was struggling with the _Finite Incantatem_ spell that Lupin was teaching them. Hermione, of course, had gotten it at her first try, but the spell was eluding him. As Lupin lectured him constantly it wasn't about raw power, it was about fine control. Furthermore, it wasn't just pointing his wand at a spell and countering it. He had to have to control not to counter everything in the room. The first time he had cast the spell, his magic had flared up and he had taken down all the spells in both the classroom and the hallway, plunging part of the castle into darkness.

He was almost asleep when he heard a loud popping sound. Without rolling over, he reached for his wand, which he now kept underneath his pillow. The threat on his life could come while he was sleeping after all. " _Lumos_ ," he whispered. The tip of his wand lit up as he spoke and he swung it to cover the area from which he had heard the noise. Quickly he lowered his wand again. "Dobby! What are you doing here?"

"Harry Potter came back to school! Dobby warned and warned Harry Potter. Why didn't Harry Potter listen? Dobby wanted to seal off the platform, but Dobby couldn't because Harry Potter had his Auntie there. Master was so upset when Harry Potter got adopted. A flogging like that Dobby has never had before." Dobby seemed to realize what he had said he started looking around for something to punish himself with. Spotting the nightstand, he headed over there slamming his head against it. "Bad Dobby, bad!"

Harry grabbed the house elf, forcing him to stop banging his head against the nightstand before he woke someone up. What had he meant by he wanted to seal the platform? He had that kind of magic? "That wouldn't have been a nice thing to do Dobby. I thought we were friends," Harry responded, hurt clear in his voice. "But you wanted to take away one of the things that I care about the most. Keep me away from my friends and my school."

Dobby shook his head at that. "Harry Potter doesn't understand. Dobby will do anything keep Harry Potter safe. Harry Potter is not safe at Hogwarts. Harry Potter is in grave danger."

Clearly he wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon. Harry reached over and slipped on his quick draw wand holster, before sliding his wand in. Why did the Wizarding World hold him in such high esteem? He had just been a baby when Voldemort had attacked. He hadn't even done anything. It wasn't anything he did that made the killing spell rebound. "I don't understand why you want to protect me so much Dobby."

Tears slid down Dobby's face. "Harry Potter is so humble. If only Harry Potter could know what he means to us enslaved dregs of the magical world."

"I am not being humble Dobby," Harry responded with a slight snap in his voice. Enough with the hero worship that he didn't deserve already! "I don't understand what you are talking about."

"When the Dark Lord was in power, servants like Dobby were treated like dirt. Dobby is still treated like dirt, but for most of the others things have vastly improved. We all see you as a hero, because you broke the Dark Lords spell, you freed everyone. My master…," Dobby trailed off before he could complete that last part.

That was all well and good, but he didn't deserve their praise. "I didn't even do anything Dobby. I was just a baby when this all happened. I have no idea why Voldemort was unable to kill me. When he comes back…. bloody hell forget I said that last part Dobby."

Dobby looked shocked. "Harry Potter knows the Dark Lord is alive? And Harry Potter still came back to Hogwarts?" His expression became one of total awe. "Such greatness and such bravery like Dobby has never seen. The risk Harry Potter is taking now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once again."

That wasn't a place that Harry knew about and he made a mental note to ask Hermione and Aunt McGonagall about it. "Dobby I need you to do me a big favour," he said.

"A favour from Dobby? Anything for Harry Potter." Dobby was practically beaming at this point.

"I need you to talk to my Aunt and tell her what you told me."

Dobby's face fell at this. He hung his head. "Dobby can't. Dobby shouldn't even have told you. The punishments that Dobby had to give himself for coming to tell you, and the punishments that Dobby will have to give himself for tonight…" He held up his hands, which had bandages on them. "Dobby had to iron his hands after his last visit to see you."

That was horrible! Still Harry had guessed that Dobby would answer that way, and so he had slid his wand into his hand. "Then I am sorry about this Dobby." Harry raised his wand. "Stupefy" A red jet of light shot out at Dobby.

At the same time Dobby vanished with a loud pop. The stunning spell continued on and hit Dean who had got up to use the loo. Dean hit the ground with a loud thump that drew the attention of Ron, who came out with his wand drawn before rushing over to Dean.

Bloody hell! Oh, Aunt McGonagall was going to be mad. He had mostly avoided trouble in the summer, but just the few flashes trouble had taught him that he didn't really want to get in trouble with her. She was even stricter with him at home than she was at school, which he wouldn't have believed possible before he had seen it happen. Harry lowered his wand wishing that he could do the spell to wake up a stunned person. Again he wished that he was as good at this as Hermione. Wait! What about the _Finite Incantatem_ spell? If he could do it quickly and correctly, he could avoid trouble. Maybe they could convince Dean that he tripped, hit his head and blacked out for a few moments. "I stunned him by mistake Ron," Harry explained. "I am going to try and cancel the effects of my spell now."

Ron snorted at that as he put his wand away. "Good luck mate."

Harry took a deep breath as he focused on his magic. Raising his wand, he pointed it at Dean. " _Finite Incantatem_!"

Blue light flooded the room.

Dean grabbed his head as he woke up.

"Good job…" Ron began.

Then the lights went out in their room.

A round of Lumos spells were heard as wands lit back up.

"Guess I need some more practice," Harry said sheepishly.

"Bloody hell Harry, the entire common room is dark. You countered all of the magic in the entire tower I bet," Ron said.

Hermione wandered out of her room, walking slowly with her wand lit in front of her. "What's going on?"

Suddenly the lights came back on in the room and standing in the doorway were Dumbledore and McGonagall their wands drawn.

"That Miss Granger is a very good question," Dumbledore said kindly. "Care to explain yourself Harry?" All though Dumbledore's voice was kind, the look he gave Harry was anything but.

Harry felt like taking a step backward under that glare, instead clutching his wand he tried to explain. "The guest that visited me at my house returned and he gave me some news, and I wanted him to tell you directly Professor Dumbledore. He refused so I tried to stun him, and I hit Dean instead by mistake. I was trying to wake Dean up, and I guess I put too much power into it," Harry tried to explain. Worse than the look on Dumbledore's face was the look of disappointment on his Aunt's face.

"I think we should talk about it in the morning," McGonagall said. "It is late now. "Come to my office first thing tomorrow morning Harry."

* * *

The next morning Harry trudged down to McGonagall's office with Ron and Hermione trailing him. "You two didn't need to get up early to come with me," he told them. "I am perfectly safe in the halls of Hogwarts."

"We came to support you Harry," Hermione said. "I have thinking about what you should say to Professor McGonagall. School rules say that students shouldn't use magic outside of the classroom environment."

Ron looked at her funny. "You would know a rule like that. No one ever follows it. How could we when we are given spells that we have to know before the next class?"

Hermione went on as though Ron hadn't spoken. "Despite that being a rule it is never enforced. So Professor McGonagall can't punish you for using the stunning spell or the counter spell, at least I don't think she can."

"She seemed kind of upset about turning off all the magic in our tower though," Ron pointed out.

"Not helping Ron," Hermione told him. "Listen Harry, your best bet is to explain that you were doing it for the right reasons, not to break school rules. Dobby gave you important information and that information needed to be given to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall."

"Are you telling me how to get out of trouble Hermione?" Harry asked as they walked.

She blushed at that. "No, not…I guess I am. But only because you were doing the right thing."

They arrived in front of McGonagall's office. "Well wish me luck," Harry said.

"I will transfigure you a pillow to sit on for later," Ron told him. Both of them looked at him. "What? It is a useful skill to learn when you live in a household with someone like my mum."

"You're not helping Ron," Hermione scolded him. She turned to Harry. "You will be fine. Professor McGonagall is reasonable and fair."

Harry knocked on the door of McGonagall's office.

"Come in," she called out, not looking up from her desk.

Harry walked in standing in front of her desk.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Have a seat," she said sternly.

Harry sat down his mind racing. Being called Mr. Potter by his Aunt wasn't a good sign, but it did indicate that she was speaking as a Professor and not his Aunt. He waited for her to speak again.

Several minutes passed before she put aside the paper she was grading and looked up. "So, how about you tell me why you thought stunning another student and then extinguishing all of the magic in our Tower while a very impressive display of magic was a good idea?"

Harry launched into his story. "Dobby came to see me last night. He told me again that I was in a lot of danger here. I know that I am not, because you will protect me," Harry assured her. "Then he told me that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again." He paused in his story because he saw his Aunt go pale at that. "What? What did I say?"

Professor McGonagall gripped her desk for support, calming herself before speaking. She had to be sure that is what Dobby had said before she brought this to Dumbledore. "Repeat that last part Harry," she said shifting her tone to be gentler. She was still very disappointed in how he had acted, but for the moment this was more important.

"Dobby said that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once again." He could see that that hearing it was causing his Aunt great distress, and he decided to take a chance. "Aunt what is the Chamber of Secrets?"

She sighed at this having expected the question. "Over a 1,000 years ago Hogwarts was founded by the four greatest witches and wizards of that age, perhaps the four greatest ever. They named their houses after themselves. At first, they worked together for the good of all their students and the wizarding world. Then Slytherin and Gryffindor had an argument over who was acceptable students that resulted in Slytherin leaving the school. He wanted to only admit pureblood wizards, which is why many wizard families that feel that way end up having their children in Slytherin. This much is known for sure. What isn't known for sure is that the rumor is that before he left, he built a chamber that the other founders knew nothing about. Sealed until the day his true heir arrived, the chamber contained something that would allow his heir to purge the school of all those judged unworthy to attend. For many years it was believed to be a legend. It isn't. It is very real. And it contains a monster." She gave him a very severe glare. "Myself and the others that know, would prefer that the belief that the Chamber is a legend remain that way."

Harry nodded at this. "Yes Aunt McGonagall. What happened when it opened before? "

"It was when Voldemort was a student here. He wasn't known as Voldemort then. Professor Dumbledore suspects that Voldemort opened the chamber. A student died and many students were injured. The school was almost closed," she explained. "The fact that it has been reopened is horrible news."

"That is why I tried to stun Dobby," Harry explained.

"And had you left it at that you wouldn't have been in trouble. But you removed all the magic in the Gryffindor tower Harry. That will take time and effort to restore it."

Harry hung his head at that. "I am sorry, that wasn't my intention."

"I know, but I also can't let you go totally unpunished, or people will accuse me of playing favourites." She straightened up, switching her voice to her head of household voice. "Therefore, tomorrow you will be helping Professor Snape clean his potions room. Without magic."

* * *

The next morning Harry woke up early so that he could eat before having to head down to the potions room to clean for Snape. He ate quickly, not wanting Snape to extend his punishment or take away points for lateness. For the next four hours he was going to have to clean the room by hand. When he walked into the potions room, Snape was there talking with Malfoy. Wonderful. Bad enough that he had to do this with Snape, but now he had to do it with Malfoy there?

"The cleaning supplies are in the corner, Potter," Snape said without looking at him. "You are not to use magic, unless you want to do this every weekend for an entire month."

"Potter would just make more of a mess using magic anyway. Besides I heard that he has plenty of practice being a house elf from those muggle relatives of his," Malfoy said loudly as Harry walked by.

"Draco, remember the new rules about bullying," Snape warned him.

"I wasn't bullying him, just speaking the truth," Draco pointed out. Draco had never done chores of any sort until he had come to Hogwarts, and even then only once or twice when Snape couldn't protect him from being in trouble. His father had used a more direct method of punishment in the rare times that Draco had gotten into serious trouble.

In the corner, Harry was taking much longer than needed to gather up the supplies, hoping that Malfoy would leave before he got started cleaning. The last thing he needed was Malfoy spreading tales of his childhood around. Harry clinched and unclenched his fists as he resisted the urge to curse Malfoy.

"Why did you want to see me?" Snape asked softly.

Draco answered with something that Harry couldn't hear.

Damn it. Pulling out his wand, Harry whispered " _Sonorus_." Now he could hear the end of what Malfoy was saying. He started to clean so it wouldn't look like he was trying to listen in.

"Potter. I will show that he is a fake. Even when he screws up, they make it seem like such a great thing that it adds to his legend," Malfoy said bitterly.

Snape nodded at this. "Potter gets credit for a great many things he doesn't deserve. But be warned Draco, don't take him lightly. Potter is powerful for his age."

"Will you arrange it?"

Snape nodded. "You will get to duel Potter. No killing or seriously hurting him Draco, not in full view of all the other teachers and students. You will never get away with that, not with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall firmly in his camp."

"My father says that the chamber will be opened and Potter will…"

Harry missed the end of what Draco was about to say because Snape had chosen that moment to cast a silencing spell around the two of them. Shortly after that Draco left, giving Harry one final sneering look.

The rest of the four hours passed uneventfully.

* * *

The next morning the great hall was abuzz as the three of them made their way into it. Dean was standing in front of the notice board and spotted them, waving them over. "They are starting a dueling club. The first meeting is tonight."

Harry, Hermione and Ron all exchanged glances.

"I wouldn't mind learning to duel, I figure that could be pretty useful," Ron said.

"I don't know that I will be any good at it, but it sounds like a good place to learn," Hermione said.

"Oh sod off it, you are good at everything," Ron told her.

"He is right Hermione. You know more spells than the rest of the second year put together," Harry told her as they waited in line to add their names to the sign-up sheet.

Hermione blushed at this praise from Harry, but said nothing. Although teachers did praise her from time to time, it felt like it meant a lot more coming from Harry.

That evening they arrived before the eight pm start time, and already the great hall was filling up. All of the tables had been removed and in their place along one wall, was a massive golden stage.

"Who do you reckon will be teaching us? Maybe it will be Dumbledore. He is one of the greatest Wizards ever. In 1945 he defeated…" Hermione chatted away to Ron and Harry.

They both started to say something, but stopped when they noticed the other doing it. Ron motioned for Harry to go ahead.

"We will find out soon Hermione. Now can you please stop chatting and stay alert for Malfoy. Remember that he has plans with Snape to try something tonight," Harry told her.

"Oh, Harry, you have to know that Professor Snape is being friendly to Malfoy so that he can learn what he knows. Professor Snape helped save your life remember," Hermione responded. "Professor Dumbledore trusts him fully and that should be enough for you."

"Well somehow it isn't. Professor Dumbledore could be wrong," Harry said as he got ready to pick up an old argument between the two of them.

Shockingly, it was Ron who stepped into the role of peacemaker. "Knock it off both of you. You can't protect Harry if you are too busy arguing with him," he told Hermione, reminding him of their vow to Harry. He turned to his best mate. "And you Harry, if you are distracted you will get sloppy, and that isn't good for any of us."

At that moment, Lupin walked onto the stage, wearing forest green robes. Walking behind him in his usual sombre black robes was none other than Snape. "Gather round," Lupin called out to the waiting students. "Now Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start a duelling club here at Hogwarts. What you learn here will be useful in case you ever need to learn to defend yourself against things other than the Dark Arts. In fact, a week before I arrived at Hogwarts I was at a semi-respectable establishment and two blokes decided to attempt to rob me in a back ally. I took care of them using the skills that I will show you tonight and throughout the time of the duelling club" He turned and nodded at Snape. "Professor Snape confessed to me that he knows a little bit about duelling and delightfully has agreed to assist me in teaching you. Everyone say thank you to Professor Snape for taking the time to help teach you."

"Thank you Professor Snape," over 100 voices said together.

Snape made no acknowledgement, instead he looked bored and irritated.

Seeing that no comment was coming from Snape, Lupin carried on. "Now in a formal duel you face your foe like so," he turned around and faced Snape. Both of them raised their wands like swords in front of them. "Wands go into the swords position. You bow to each other…" he bowed to Snape, who after a moment returned the bow.

"Now this is the important part, the rules. No killing, no curses designed to do serious injury. The only other rule is to achieve victory any way possible." Lupin turned back to face Snape. "Ready?"

Snape nodded at that.

"On three, one…two…three. " _Petrificus Totalus_!" Lupin shouted.

At the same time Snape calmly said " _Protego_ "

A red light shot from Lupin's wand, but it harmlessly impacted Snape's shield spell.

Snape counter attacked with the disarming charm. " _Expelliarmus_!" A flash of a scarlet beam was aimed at Lupin

To which Lupin calmly dove out of the way, pointing his wand at Snape and saying " _Finite Incantatem_!""

A blue light struck Snape's shield, cancelling it out completely.

"And that is how you cast that spell correctly Harry," Hermione told him as they watched.

"Gee thanks, I would have never known that if you hadn't spoken up," Harry responded in a sarcastic tone.

Meanwhile lights of all different colours were flying across the stage as Snape and Lupin flung spell and counter spell at each other.

To Harry it appeared that the duel had stopping being a teaching tool and become an actual duel. It looked personal between the two of them and that made Harry wonder about their history. He made a mental note to ask his Aunt about it later.

Finally, after several minutes of back and forth, the duel ended in a draw as Snape and Lupin disarmed each other and ended up with the others wand.

Applause broke out from the crowd of students as they handed each other their wands back. Facing the crowd Lupin took a small bow. "And that is what a real duel looks like when done by fully trained Wizards. Now Professor Snape and I are going to pair students up.

Snape began to head towards Harry and Malfoy, but Lupin moved faster. "Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger how about you pair up? Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter you pair up."

Harry and Ron got into the combat position, but they both had their eyes and ears on Hermione and Draco.

"I don't want to battle this Mudblood," Draco complained loudly as he stood across from Hermione.

Hermione knew that she had been insulted, but didn't know how, so she settled for mocking Draco. "What's wrong Malfoy? Afraid that this Mudblood is going to kick your behind?"

" _Reducto_!" Malfoy yelled as he pointed his wand at Hermione.

She dived out of the way of the dangerous curse, watching as it put a hole in the wall of the great hall. " _Protego_ ," she whispered, shielding herself before standing up to face Malfoy. "Hey! No deadly curses," she scolded him.

Malfoy though was fuming. "You insulted my honour Mudblood," he stated as he raised his wand again.

Before he could fire off another spell, he was struck by Hermione's return spell, causing his wand to go flying into her hand. "Less talk more action," she said with a smile. While as before she might have been stunned by his cheating, she had almost expected it, which is why she had started her dodge before he even used his first spell. To help Harry she was going to have to fight against very bad people, and they wouldn't care about any rules or social niceties

McGonagall had seen most of the quick duel and was hurrying over fuming. "That is 50 points from Slytherin Mr. Malfoy, and you will be serving three weeks' worth of detentions with me. I will also be writing a letter home to your Father, explaining that if you ever pull a stunt like this again, you will be expelled. I expect to see you at Ten Am next Saturday morning in my office. Don't be late."

Malfoy looked at her in complete shock, and even more shocking to him was the fact that Snape just stood there, not coming to his defence. "I, shouldn't Professor Snape set my punishment?"

"Considering that you attacked a member of my house, I think not," McGonagall told him. "Ron, take Hermione back to her room please."

Ron nodded at that.

McGonagall turned to Lupin. "Professor Lupin if you would be so kind as to escort Malfoy back to his room?"

"Of course," Lupin responded grabbing Malfoy's arm. "I want a few words with him on the way back anyway."

She turned to Harry. "Come to my office please Harry, we have things to talk about."

"Yes Professor," Harry responded.

* * *

~Transfiguration Class~

Professor McGonagall was accepting the summer Transfiguration homework and reviewing what they learned last year. She was rather unsurprised by the lack of success compared to the ending of last year with the spells they had learned. One however was doing an outstanding job as usual was Hermione.

"Despite me extending the deadline for summer homework a month, most of you have done quite poorly on it at first glance. I suspect that most of you waited to the very last moment to complete this. However, Miss Granger has done her usual outstanding job on the homework and will receive top marks. Take ten points for Gryffindor your outstanding effort Miss Granger."

She smiled from Professor McGonagall's compliment over her success. "Um, Professor?" she asked before Professor McGonagall walked off, most likely to be unamused by some failing student.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I read something quite strange. I-is it possible that an object be... transfigured into something that responds to you?"

Professor McGonagall paused, looking confused. "What do you mean, Granger?"

"W-well, professor, what I mean is... an object like um, a book, or a blackboard where one can write to talk to and they give responses."

McGonagall thought about it and replied, "I assume you don't mean the moving pictures. One object that exists like that is the Ravenclaw Tower where one must answer the riddle to enter, but that was created by one of the greatest and most knowledgeable witches of all time. It is very tough to manage, so no one really bothers to try it anymore. Why did you-what book did you read it from?"

"Um, it was from How to Magically Make Writers."

"Miss Granger, that's a rather advanced book you're reading. I don't recall anything like what you said is actually in there, but I suppose young readers have some creativity." She looked around, seeing nearly everyone was paying attention to them. "What are you all doing? Get back to practicing!"

* * *

Harry looked at the door that led to Dumbledore's office. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and looked in. "Hello?"

Dumbledore was seated at his desk, writing something before he looked up. "Ah, Harry. Come in."

Harry walked in, standing in front of him with his books.

"You can put them by a wall, Harry." Dumbledore indicated a place where Harry could put them.

"Yes, sir." Harry walked over and placed his books and supplies down.

"I want you to know, Harry, that I'm a busy man. I am allowing time for us to talk, learn, or to help you. I do not want you to waste my time. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

"For today, is there anything you wish to talk about before we begin?"

There was one thing that came to Harry's mind: Hermione's question. Not wishing to discuss it with Dumbledore before talking to Hermione about it, he replied, "No, sir."

"Alright, Harry. Are you aware of Disillusionment Charm?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir."

"It's much like your cloak, but it does not require you to carry your cloak with you at all times. In fact, your cloak has the most powerful Disillusionment Charm ever cast on it. If your cloak got lost or was not with you, you would have a higher chance of being seen, so I'm teaching you this. Eventually, your friends can learn how to use it."

"I see, sir."

"I also caution you in abusing this power, Harry. No one likes to find you where you shouldn't belong. The spell is _Somnium_. Say it with me."

" _Somnium_."

It was surprisingly difficult to pronounce it correctly and consistently, and Harry had to repeat it till he got it right 5 times a row. Then, Dumbledore had Harry take out the wand and learn the motion for the Disillusionment Charm. It was very simple motion of tapping on the head.

" _Somnium,_ " Harry said as he attempted the wand motion.

"Very good, Harry. Try casting it now."

Harry cast the spell in front of the mirror to best see how he was doing. He was not able to completely cover himself on the first try. His first attempt only got his head invisible. The next few tries, he managed to get at least half of himself, but which half changed with each cast. At the end of the session, Harry was not able to get a full body cast, but he was learning.

"That would be all, Harry. Keep practicing that. I want you to come in next time and able to cast it fully on yourself and evade my eyes. That will be your task for next time. Off you go."

Ron was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. During his free time waiting, he was reading a book. He looked up when Harry exited the stairs. "Harry, how was your private lesson?"

"It went okay, Ron. Taught me the Disillusionment spell. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet," Harry replied, walking to him. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, this? Something Hermione told me to do while waiting. It's boring, though. I don't see why we had to learn History of Magic." Ron got up, holding the book where Harry could read the title. "She said that since I slept in class, I might as well read what I missed. The homework isn't due till next week, though. I bet Hermione had got it done by now."

"Yeah, Ron, ready for dinner?"

"I'm starving, yes. Let's go!"

Harry smiled as the two boys walked off to the Great Hall. They talked about various things such as the classes, what they learned, and seeing if Hermione saved a seat. Ron told Harry she would most likely be buried in a book and forgot it was dinner time.

When they did arrive, they found her already seated, getting food for herself. When she spotted them, she waved them over. They came and seated themselves. Hermione spotted the book Ron brought. "Did you read up to the Great First War, Ron?"

"No. I barely finished the first chapter," he replied. "Wait, is our homework about the Great First War? Why didn't you tell me that. Think of all the stuff we could learn about how to fight..."

"No, it's about how the Great First War started." She sighed as she cut him off. "Guess you have to read chapter 2 tomorrow before writing that essay up."

"I'm not reading it tomorrow; I nearly fell asleep waiting for Harry!"

"Rubbish, Ron, it wasn't that long, was it Harry?"

Harry had started eating when the question came. "Hm?"

Hermione sighed. "I'm asking about your practice, Harry. I doubt it took all that long."

Harry swallowed his bite. "It was long enough. I'll tell you guys about it later."

"Yeah, let's eat!" Ron was quick to get food on his plate while Hermione shook her head and went back to her plate.

As they were finishing up their meal, they noticed two familiar faces. "Crabbe and Goyle," Ron muttered.

"What about them, Ron?" Hermione asked, quick to speak up. "They usually pig out here anyways."

Harry watched them enter and sat at the Slytherin table. "Do they look odd to you? Or acting odder than usual?"

"Other than looking like a couple of troll faces? No," Ron helpfully answered.

"It's not rare, Harry that they come without Malfoy," Hermione added, having noticed their missing third member before taking a drink.

"Malfoy? Where is that git anyway?" Ron looked around for the tell-tale of the blonde. Not spotting him, he grinned. "You know how much he likes talking down to us. Let's go over there and see if they're so tough without Malfoy.

"Ron, no," Hermione told him firmly but was ignored. She was stunned that he got up, ready to head over to them. "Harry, stop him!"

"You don't have to come, Hermione. Come on Harry, let's see if they knew where their git of a leader is."

Harry didn't argue and also got up to follow Ron. Hermione groaned and only following them to keep them out of trouble.

"Well, I see the big stupid face and the short grumpy face," Ron said as he got closer to them. "But, I don't see your blonde leader you two always hide behind. Where is he?"

"Get lost," Crabbe told him, glaring at him.

"Ooo! Grumpy face speaks! And here I thought you're too stupid to talk."

"Shut your mouth. We don't need Malfoy with us to turn you into dust." Goyle had gotten up, giving Ron both a heated stare and obviously ready to pound him. Crabbe wasn't too far behind.

"How frightening! If we see him, that git, we'll tell him all about your bravery."

"Ron, let's go before we make too big of a scene." Harry had spotted the teachers that was overseeing the dinner catching sight of them. It would not end well if one or more teachers get involved.

Fortunately, Ron got the hint and let Harry and Hermione drag him out before it got physical with Crabbe and Goyle.

* * *

The next couple weeks flew by rather uneventful. Malfoy had heard about the incident during dinner and had been vicious of late towards the group. Then, one day, Malfoy was missing from Potions class. What wasn't very strange was his lackeys coming in late, but their expression was more of worry than calm. Snape was quick to find out what happened out of earshot of the class. Then, it got strange as Snape left, not expecting Crabbe and Goyle to make potions, but expected everyone else to.

A substitute teacher came in to oversee them till the end of class. He wasn't able to keep the class quiet with their talk about what transpired. Ron was in favour of finding the missing Malfoy, thinking he got what he deserved. Hermione thought that was a bad idea while Harry was mildly unconcerned about finding Malfoy.

As they discussed in the hallway, they found themselves in a somewhat unfamiliar corridor. "Where are we?" Ron asked no one in particular.

"I'm not sure...but I think it's the way to the out-of-order girls' bathroom," Hermione said, looking around.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Harry had seen something at the end that appeared to be texts. Hermione started walking, feeling odd about that writing.

"Wait, Hermione!" Ron called as he started to pull out his wand. Harry soon followed suit. "It may be a trap."

She saw them with wands out and got hers. "R-right." Forming a wall, they walked down the hall towards the writing, cautious with their movements, each of them scanning a different area of the corridor at all times. A dark form slowly revealed itself to be a body, adorned with familiar colors: Slytherin colors. With nothing out to attack them, they were able to get close enough to read the wall. They gasped. Written in giant bloody letters was...

 **BEWARE THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.**

 **ALL JUDGED TO BE UNWORTHY SHALL KNOW ITS WRATH.**

Under the dried blooded text was a body. A body they instantly recognized: Draco Malfoy.

* * *

A/N: If you are seeing this, I managed to get this chapter uploaded before I lost power to Hurricane Matthew. I live right in the path of the Hurricane. As a result, the next chapter will be delayed.

Thank you tlc125 for reviewing each of my chapters. To answer you comment, yes things will go quite differently. You will see elements of the same story, but overall the plot will go differently. This year does feature the chamber of secrets, but things won't go exactly as they went in the novel.

* * *

 _Spell Glossary_

 _Finite Incantatem: Counters all spells around the caster. The range and amount of what is counter depends on the power put into the spell, the ability of the caster, and the skill of the caster._

 _Lumos: Lights up the tip of the caster's wand._

 _Stupefy: Stunning spell._

 _Somnium: Disillusionment Charm. Hides the caster, rendering them partly or fully invisible._

 _Reducto: Blasting spell._

 _Protego: Shield Charm. Protects against most minor spells and curses. How much/well it protects depends on the abilities of the caster._

 _Petrificus Totalus: Fully body bind._

 _Expelliarmus: Disarming spell._


	5. Chapter 5-Of Mudbloods and Snakes

**Childhood's End**

 **Year 2**

 **Chapter 5-Of Mudbloods and Snakes**

* * *

 _Disclaimer: When I woke up this morning I was still male. Therefore, I am not J.K Rowling, and I don't own Harry Potter._

 _A/N: I decided to do shorter chapters for all my stories. This should allow me to update on a more regular basis as with a shorter chapter, I can write it all in a single sitting._

* * *

"Bloody hell that is Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed as the three of them rushed over to check on Malfoy.

"He's alive," Harry told the others as he bent down to check for a pulse. "But he is hurt bad. Look, you can see the blood pouring from the wound in his back."

"What to do we do Harry?" Hermione asked him. Her body shook as she asked that. She looked like she was on the verge of throwing up.

Why were they asking him? Harry wondered. Still, he needed to act quickly. As much as he hated Draco, he didn't want to see him dead. And to some monster that Dobby had warned about no less. Time to make some choices. "Hermione, we need some healing spells. It is the only way that Draco can make it while I go get help."

Harry turned to Ron. "Ron, I want you to keep guard on Hermione while she works. Don't let anything near her."

Ron nodded at this as he pulled his wand out. He was clearly gathering up his courage. "You can count on me Harry."

"Good. I will be back with help as soon as possible." Not wanting to waste any more time he pulled his wand out and ran down the hall towards the stairs. He was heading for the first place he could think of, his Aunt's office.

Hermione knelt by Draco slowly. For long moments she knelt there without moving. She wasn't sure if she could muster what it took to save him. "I…I don't know if I can do it Ron," she told her friend.

"Come on Hermione, you are the brightest witch of our year," Ron told her. "If anyone can do it you can. Draco is a git, but he doesn't deserve to die like this."

"I…don't know any healing spells," Hermione admitted. Inside she was quickly flipping through every spell she knew in her mind, searching for something, anything that would save him. Unbidden a thought rose to her mind. She didn't know any healing spells, but she did know a spell that mended items. Maybe that could be used to mend Draco's wound. But first she had to stop the bleeding or he would bleed internally even if she mended the wound.

Before Hermione had found out that she was a witch, she had wanted to be a muggle doctor. To that end, her parents had bought her books about medicine and the body. She had the ability to remember every word of everything she had ever read. But how to close the wound without using a healing spell? Wait…fire! That would burn the wound closed, and clean it of infection at the same time.

Smiling slightly, Hermione pointed her wand at the wound in Draco's back. She had to admit that of all the people she was willing to set on fire, Draco was at the top of that list. "Incendio," she spoke. A jet of fire shot out of her wand, burning a blazing line across Draco's wound.

Draco screamed as he awoke.

The scream turned Ron around his wand raised. "What the bloody hell Hermione? How is that healing him?"

"I had to close the wound, and stop the bleeding," Hermione answered without taking her focus off Draco. 'Stay still," she snapped at him. "This is going to hurt. I have to make sure the wound stays closed."

Draco groaned in response.

Hermione pointed her wand at him. "Reparo," she said softly. As she watched scars formed over now closed skin on Draco's body. It had worked! The spell had forced the skin closed. She doubted that it had repaired the damage to his insides, but it might keep him alive long enough for someone who could heal him to arrive.

Draco began to wither around in pain.

Putting her wand away she grabbed him." Help me hold him steady. He can't be allowed to roll over onto his back," she ordered Ron. "Otherwise he can reopen the wound."

'Got it," Ron said as he also put his wand away. He reached out to help Hermione hold Draco still.

"What are you doing to my student? What is going on here," A voice behind her spoke.

Oh, bullocks, it would have to be Snape that arrived first, Hermione thought.

Snape had arrived and he had his wand out. Moving quickly to Draco's side he spoke as he knelt down. **"Vulnera Sanentur,** " he muttered. The scars vanished and Draco jerked slightly before his breathing relaxed. Soon the boy nodded off again.

Snape stood, putting his wand away. "Now Miss Granger, you will explain to me what is going on."

"I would say saving the life of Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said striding forward from the other end of the hall. Trailing him was McGonagall and Harry Potter. "What did you do?" He asked Hermione.

"I uhh…used fire to clean any infection and then I closed his wound with a mending spell. I don't know any healing spells," Hermione answered Dumbledore.

"Using fire to burn away the blood and infection and then using a mending spell to close the wound was quite clever Miss. Granger. Take fifty points for Gryffindor for your quick thinking." He turned to Harry. "I can't forget you, Mr. Potter. You also acted quickly by running to get us. Have another twenty points for Gryffindor for your efforts. And I would be remiss if I forgot Mr. Wesley, he deserves ten points."

Snape's eyes narrowed at this. "Yes, that is all very good. But these three shouldn't have been here. They always manage to turn up exactly where trouble is. Therefore, I think they should lose fifty points…each."

'Not a chance Severus," McGonagall said speaking for the first time. "These three saved the life of Mr. Malfoy by keeping him alive long enough for you to arrive and complete the healing process. They are heroes again. You will not treat them poorly because they thankfully happened to stumble over the scene." Her eyes narrowed as she continued. "Unless you are accusing them of opening the Chamber of Secrets," she said as she took in the bloody writing on the wall.

Severus shook his head at that. He wasn't really upset that the trio had arrived in time to save his student, but he had to keep up appearances. The Dark Lord had spies everywhere and Severus knew that he had returned. He could feel the burning on his arm from his dark mark getting hotter with each passing week. Soon the Dark Lord would grow strong enough to summon his followers to him.

"Nonetheless, your first question remains a good one," Dumbledore picked up the thread of the conversation. He motioned for McGonagall to take Draco to the infirmary. "Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. Wesley, please join myself and Professor Snape in my office."

Fifteen minutes later they were all sitting in Dumbledore's office.

McGonagall had returned from the infirmary and was giving her report. "Draco suffered a deep gash in his back from the fangs of a very large creature. I consulted with Professor Lupin and I think I know the nature of the creature from the chamber based on the pattern of the wounds. If it is the Basilisk as we suspect, then he must have never seen the creature or even a reflection. The wound was poisoned, but Hermione burned that away with her fire spell. That more than anything saved his life." She turned to Hermione. "I suspect that Lucius, Draco's father will want to thank you personally," she told the girl.

Hermione blushed at the praise. "I just did the first thing that I could think of," she responded.

"And it is in the time of conflict that we see the true measure of a person," Dumbledore commented. "Between last year and today, I can safely say that you will grow into a very powerful witch."

"Once again luck was their side. Potter has more luck than any three wizards put together and that is rubbing off on his…followers," Snape remarked. He looked around catching each them in the eye before continuing. "And yet, luck means nothing without the matching boldness to go with it. To save one that is your enemy. I clearly misjudged you, Hermione," he said, using her first name for the first time ever.

Harry and Hermione exchanged shocked glances.

"Never thought I would see the day that Professor Snape had anything nice to say about us," Ron muttered softly to Harry.

"I know. Something is going on," Harry responded in the same low tones.

"Professor Snape isn't who he appears to be," Hermione told Harry. "No, we will talk about it later", she said to cut off his next question.

"You know what the creature is?" Harry asked as he got the conversation back on track.

McGonagall nodded at this. "The poison and the shape of the wounds confirms that it was made by a very large snake. Draco was bitten in the back, so he would have never seen the creature. Which is a good thing because a single look from a Basilisk can kill. Even a reflection of a Basilisk can turn the victim into stone."

"This is very troubling," Dumbledore stated. "Somehow this creature is moving around Hogwarts, and yet how could we fail to notice a giant snake?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Snape. "The symbol of your house is a giant snake…perhaps even a Basilisk."

Snape nodded. "I will look into this. However, we must rid Hogwarts of this threat. It can't be allowed to roam free and strike at students." He paused for a moment, hands in his lap before going on. "Basilisk scales and venom are both very prized. Those that kill the creature can lay claim to its body. We could all be very rich as part of this."

"We will need to bring in a fourth member," Dumbledore mused. Someone we can trust and someone who would have the knowledge of how to deal with dark creatures. I refer of course to Professor Lupin."

Snape's face soured at that news before he nodded his agreement. "If it has to be done so be it,"

"We want to help," Harry spoke up.

"We want to help protect the school," Ron agreed.

"Not a chance," McGonagall told them. "Allow second-year students to fight the battles of full grown Witches and Wizards, why I never!"

"We defeated the traps set to guard the stone, and that was as first-year students. We have had a summer of training under our belts since then," Hermione pointed out to her.

"Enough!" Dumbledore spoke in a loud voice. "You three will return to the common room. Professor Snape will escort you. And you will breathe not a word of this to anyone else." He caught each of their eyes in turn before going on. "You will not go looking for the creature or the Chamber of Secrets. Do not think that your special status within the Order will protect you from my displeasure if I find that you have disobeyed me on this."

"Yes sir," the three of them answered together.

"Wait outside," McGonagall told them. "Professor Snape will be outside in a moment." After the kids left she turned back to Snape. "We can't allow this news to overshadow the more important matter that is almost upon us," she told Snape.

Snape looked at her as if she had taken leave of her senses.

"I refer to the upcoming match between our two houses," she told him. "You know the match that your house is going to lose."

"Don't let a couple of lucky victories go to your head," Snape responded. "You have no chance this year with the new brooms that Mr. Malfoy was nice enough to buy for the team."

"Well, in that case, how about a little wager? If I win you have to turn the walls of your classroom the colors of my house for a week if you win I will do the same."

Snape looked unsure about such a wager. He really didn't want to have to do it should Potter do the impossible again with the snitch.

'Unless you are scared that you will lose," McGonagall prompted him. There is no shame in admitting defeat ahead of time."

"I will consider it," Snape said as he quickly took his leave. He had no intentions of considering any such thing. He might not like the way that Potter seemed to think he could get away with everything or the way that McGonagall and Dumbledore played favorites with the boy, but that didn't mean he was blind to the skill the boy had as a Seeker. With the chance that Draco would still be recovering when the match rolled around, the chances of his house winning were even smaller.

Dumbledore waited until the four of them had left before turning his attention back to McGonagall. "We have to protect the students while we hunt down this creature and kill it."

"How we will find it? Searches for Chamber have turned up empty in the past," McGonagall asked him. Indeed, several top to bottom searches of Hogwarts had been conducted after the chamber opened the first time. Nothing was found. McGonagall knew that the chamber had to be hidden, but even after consulting experts on the castle and its hidden chambers they had been unable to find it. Most likely, the chamber would remain hidden. That wasn't acceptable. Not with the lives of all of the students at stake.

"We lure the creature out and kill it while it is out in the open," Dumbledore explained.

McGonagall sucked in her breath at that. "That is very risky. How will we lure it out?"

Dumbledore smiled before he spoke again. "By giving the creature's master the one target he could never resist, me."

McGonagall shook her head in protest. "It can kill you with a glance, and we can't afford to lose you. You are needed for the fight against Voldemort and his forces. "

Dumbledore linked his fingers together on the desk and leaned forward as he spoke. "I have a way to deflect the gaze of the creature. This isn't the first one I have killed," he explained.

"But…they are very rare," McGonagall pointed out.

"Back when I fought and killed the first Dark Lord in World War Two, he had one as a pet. I figured out that it was possible to transfigure a common muggle item and harden it to be able to resist the gaze of the creature. When fighting against creatures that can harm you with their vision it is well worth the discomfort. It has several drawbacks that make it unsuitable for regular dueling, however when fighting against creatures that can harm you with their vision it works out nicely. "

"Which muggle item?" she asked him

Dumbledore reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a pair of clear plastic safety goggles worn by muggle school children when they did lab work.

"You turned muggle safety gear into a way to block the death stare of a Basilisk?" she asked with disbelief in her voice.

"Indeed," Dumbledore answered with a smile on his face. He handed her a pair to put on before putting his own pair on. Drawing his wand out of his robes he then spoke again. "Are you ready to learn the spell?"

"There are other creatures that can kill just with their vision?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Not always kill, but yes such creatures exist. The odds of encountering such a creature are very small, about one in one hundred million. Thus it was deemed that these creatures were not worth teaching about, as they would scare the students. "

He paused and smiled again. "Now the spell," he said as he raised his wand. "The motion is simple." Dumbledore drew a cross in the air in front of him with his wand. "As you make the motion you speak Himayatn Eaynies."

As Dumbledore cast the spell the muggle safety goggles thickened and darkened

Although she was sitting a couple of feet away from Dumbledore, McGonagall could barely make him out while wearing her pair. The area around her seemed to be covered in a gray fog.

"Very impressive," McGonagall commented after the spell had been dispelled and they had removed their safety goggles 'What are the drawbacks?"

"There are three. First, it limits the vision of the caster by the same amount that it protects the caster. This is because the spell thickens the protective properties of the safety goggles and as result, everything the caster sees seems a bit out of scale. In time and with practice you can get used to how the world looks, but that only lessens the drawback, it doesn't remove it completely. Second, the spell isn't one-hundred percent effective. Some of the glare of the Basilisk penetrates anyway. At first, this will only make you dizzy, but prolonged eye contact can result in the caster being stunned. Third, and most importantly the spell continues to draw power from the caster the longer it is operation. The time the spell can be maintained is limited by the power of the caster." He paused and shook his head as if reminding himself of something else. "Oh, the safety goggles also have a shield charm that protects against most forms of magical attacks that target the face. Attacks against the shield will draw from the magical power of the caster. Keeping it up too long or facing too many attacks will drain the caster and cause them to pass out. "

"These drawbacks are why you never published this spell for common use?" she asked him.

"Correct. I had intended to attempt to perfect the spell, but I never found the time to do so. Things moved so quickly after my victory over the first Dark Lord. Before I knew it everyone wanted my help on a wide range of things, and decades passed without consideration for the spell. I hadn't thought I would need the spell ever again, but now a Basilisk is in Hogwarts," Dumbledore started to say more, but at that moment his fireplace sprung to life glowing green as a face appeared.

"Permission to come through?" the face of Mr. Malfoy asked.

"By all means, please come through," Dumbledore answered.

Moments later the elder Malfoy had stepped through clutching his cane. "Dumbledore, what is this that I heard about a mud…" he saw McGonagall at that moment and changed what he had about to say … "muggle born performing fire magic on my son? How dare she even raise a wand against her betters? I demand that she be expelled and turned over to me to face justice." Malfoy all but spat.

"Calm yourself, Lucius," McGonagall told him. "That muggle born that you speak so poorly of saved the life of your son. Draco is lucky that Miss Granger is so creative in her use of magic. She burned the poison out of your son. You owe her your son's life." Her eyes blazed with fire as she spoke. "You will speak respectfully of my students or I will call you to account and we will settle your foolishness with our wands." She reached into her robe to pull her wand out as she spoke.

"You don't have the social…" Lucius began to retort.

"Harry Potter is my ward, he gives me that standing as I speak for the Most Ancient House of Potter until he comes of age," she reminded him.

"Yes, typical Gryffindor, using your betters to advance your own social standing," Lucius sneered.

"That's rich coming from a Death Eater who uses a house elf to try and scare a child. What's wrong scared to face a 12-year-old boy?" McGonagall retorted.

"I have no ideas what lies you are talking about, but I won't be accused of such lies by a common Witch who isn't qualified to do anything but teach small children," Lucius responded. "After I tend to Draco, I will have my…"

"Enough," Dumbledore said in a loud voice. He turned his glare on Lucius. "I didn't invite you to my school to talk poorly about my students and threaten my staff."

Next, he glared at McGonagall "And you, you should know better. While it is true that you have wide ranging powers as the voice of the House of Potter, you should wield them in a subtle and less blunt manner. And as a staff member, I won't have you risking your life in pointless fights. I think we all know that we all will have far more combat than we want in our near futures. We don't need to go out of our way to look for fights when it will come to us."

"I was out of line. Hogwarts is not the place for such an exchange," McGonagall admitted. She turned to Lucius. "We shall not speak of this again, for if we do, you will be speaking to me as a fellow parent, and Hogwarts or not, I will hold you accountable for your actions."

Lucius didn't justify that with a response as he spoke only to Dumbledore. "I will go see my son now." He had to force the next set of words out. "And, I wish to speak to Miss Granger. I owe her a debt for saving Draco and the Malfoys always pay our debts." He strode out of the office. As he was about to be outside of their hearing range he spoke again, getting in the last words. "Even mudbloods can be useful once in their lives."

* * *

 _A/N: I am aware that I am writing McGonagall as much more direct than she appeared in canon, but now she has Harry Potter to raise, and she showed a lot of_ spine _several times in the books. She fought_ Voldemort _and walked away alive from the battle, not many Wizards or Witches can claim that._

 _As for Lucius, he never in a million years thought that his actions could lead to his son almost dying. That has made more cranky and a lot less smooth than he normally is._

 _Some of you have guessed that Ginny isn't the one with the Diary this time and you are correct. I am willing to confirm that at this time. If you read the year two chapters carefully, I have dropped clues as to who has the Diary, but the big reveal will have to wait for another later chapter._

* * *

 _Glossary_

 _ **Himayatn Eaynies** : based on Arabic for "Shield my eyes."_

 _Vulnera Sanentur: Healing spell._


	6. Chapter 6-A Talk with a Death Eater

**Childhood's End**

 **Year 2**

 **Chapter 6- A Conversation with a Death Eater.**

 _Disclaimer: JKR didn't adopt me, so I don't make any money off Harry Potter._

* * *

"Professor," Hermione began as Professor Snape escorted them back to the Gryffindor common room.

Snape didn't break stride as he answered. "Yes Miss…Hermione," he said correcting himself. The idea of using a student's first name wasn't something that was normally done by staff unless they were close to said student. Hermione had just saved Draco however, so the rules could be bent slightly, and her actions would give him the perfect cover should their actions be observed or their conversation be overheard, though he had a spell ready to take care of the latter should it be needed.

"I was wondering...why did you save Harry's life? Professor McGonagall said that you didn't get along with his dad," Hermione asked. She was trying to be tactful as this might be their one chance to get some real information out of Professor Snape. Upsetting him wouldn't further that goal.

Snape wasn't about to answer that question honestly. Nor could he risk trying to get into Hermione's mind to see what she was aiming for by asking him that question. She would surely be able to sense and repeal such an attack, and he would know because he taught the trio to shield their minds just this past summer. They had all done a passible job with it, but none better than Hermione. Hermione used the tactic of allowing the attacker into her mind and then overwhelming them with random unrelated information, none of which was what the attacker was searching for. She knew a lot of useless muggle information. This stalled any attacks because an attacker couldn't make heads or tails of her mind. This was even better than simply pushing an attacker back because it confused them in the process, which would make them a very easy target in a duel or fight. "I swore an oath to protect the students in this school," he answered. "That is one of my jobs as a professor here."

"But…" Hermione began, only to stop as he shook his head slightly.

Snape raised his wand from the guard position he had been holding it in. " _Muffiato_." Lowering his wand back to the guard position he spoke to Hermione. "I have insured that we won't be overheard. You may now continue with your questions Hermione."

She looked slightly shocked at this. "That isn't a standard spell…at least…unless…is it a NEWT level spell? I haven't finished those books yet," she admitted blushing a bit as she did.

"Bloody hell Hermione," Ron began. "You have already read our OWL level spell books?"

"Language Mr. Weasley," Snape told him. "Five points from Gryffindor."

"I… sorry," Ron said. "But, Hermione why are you reading so far ahead? We have years before we have to tackle our OWLs."

"We might not have years Ron," Hermione told him crossly. "Voldemort might be at full strength before then. We must be ready to help Harry. That's why we are learning more advanced magic ahead of time in our Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. We are learning fourth year spells in our second year because Professor Dumbledore knows we don't have a lot of time."

"Don't say the Dark Lord's name," Snape hissed at them. "It isn't safe!"

Harry had his wand out in a flash, pointing it at Snape. "The Dark Lord…that's what his Death Eaters called him according the books that I read about their trials and methods."

"Harry says it and Professor Dumbledore says it," Hermione pointed out.

"Potter has to fight the Dark Lord and Professor Dumbledore is the only wizard to be seen as his equal," Snape responded. He noticed that Harry had his wand pointed at him. "Oh do put your wand away Potter. If I wanted to harm you I wouldn't have saved your life several times."

"Maybe you are saving me for Voldemort…you call him the same name the Death Eaters did," Harry said not lowering his wand one bit.

Ron reacting to what Harry had done, also had his wand out and pointed at Snape.

Only Hermione remained calm as she put the pieces together in her mind before speaking out loud. "You're a spy," she said.

"We have to let Professor Dumbledore know," Ron stated as he stepped in front of Harry, shielding him from view from Snape. "Run Harry, Hermione and I will hold him off while you go get Professor Dumbledore."

"I could have the three of you disarmed and tied up in under five seconds if I so chose to," Snape told them calmly. "But you are children that don't know of what you speak. And you have ten seconds to lower your wands before I take fifty points from each of you for threatening a Professor."

Meanwhile, Hermione continued to put the pieces together. If Professor Snape was a spy for Professor Dumbledore and the Order and he had to pretend to be a Death Eater, then that would explain why he was always so mean to the students that weren't of his house and why he was especially mean to Harry. If he knew that Voldemort wasn't dead and maybe had spies in the school, then he had to act like he was on Voldemort's side so that Voldemort would trust him. "You are a spy for Professor Dumbledore. You spy on the Death Eaters?" she asked, but it was clear that she simply confirming what she already believed by her tone instead of asking an outright question.

"But how can you be sure?" Harry asked her.

"Do you really think he could fool Professor Dumbledore? Fool the greatest wizard since Merlin?" Hermione responded.

"He is lying to Voldemort if he is pretending to be a Death Eater," Ron pointed out.

The final piece clicked home for Hermione when Ron said that. That had been the one thing that had been bothering her, from what she had read of the Death Eaters, it didn't seem possible to pretend to be one. Professor Snape wasn't pretending, he was one…or he had been at some point. "You used to be a Death Eater. But at some point, you came over to work for the Order," she told Professor Snape. "Now a lot of things suddenly make a lot more sense."

Hermione really was the cleverest witch that Hogwarts had seen in a long time, Snape reflected. He hadn't intended for the conversation to go in this direction, but the clues had been laid out in front of Hermione and she had put them together. "What Miss Granger states is correct," he responded. "I used to be a Death Eater…I was foolish, but then I saw the error of my ways and Professor Dumbledore gave me a second chance. You will now put your wands away or I will take those points."

Ron looked at Harry who nodded and both them put their wands away.

"I read about the Dark Mark," Hermione said. "But it wasn't clear in the book about how exactly they work. Could you show us yours…I mean if it is in a place you can show us," she said as she stuttered a bit at the end.

Snape took them into an empty classroom, locking the door behind them after they entered. He rolled up his left sleeve showing off a what appeared to be a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth tattoo. The tattoo was only slightly visible and if they hadn't been looking to see the Dark Mark, they might have written it off as a scar or faded tattoo. "The color of the Dark Mark shows the health and status of the Dark Lord. When he is fully healthy the Dark Mark is jet black. It burns and itches as he continues to grow stronger and recover," Snape explained to them. "The Dark Lord can summon the Death Eaters to him by pressing down on a Dark Mark. Or, a Death Eater can summon the Dark Lord by pressing down on their own Dark Mark."

"Does everyone who works for him get one?" Harry asked.

Snape shook his head. "No, only his inner circle. The Dark Lord uses others, but he only honors a small select number with an actual Dark Mark. Those that have proven their loyalty to him several times over."

Snape knew what the next question was going to be.

Harry asked, "What did you do to earn yours?"

Snape shook his head. "I can't answer that question. Only Professor Dumbledore is aware of that information. It is vital that that information remain secret."

"Why did you switch sides?" Ron asked.

"The Dark Lord killed the person that I cared the most about," Snape answered. "I turned myself in to Professor Dumbledore the next night. I should have gone to prison, but Professor Dumbledore decided that I would be allowed to redeem myself by teaching here and by spying on the Dark Lord for the Order." He held up his hand to stop further questions. "I was asked to escort you to your common room and I have delayed doing so long enough. I want each of you to swear that you won't divulge what you learned tonight to anyone without Professor Dumbledore telling you to."

The trio nodded at this.

The remaining trip to the common room was without incident.

* * *

After the next Defense against the Dark Arts lesson in which they continued to practice shield and stunning spells Professor Lupin asked Harry to stay behind and visit his office after class.

Given the knowledge that they had of the school being under threat, the trio had decided to stick together as much as possible. Even with the professors patrolling the halls at night and escorting the students to each class they still didn't feel safe. There hadn't been any further attacks, but they figured that it was only a matter of time and McGonagall kept reminding them to keep their guard up. And so, Hermione and Ron also hung back to wait on Harry.

"It's okay," Harry told them. "Professor Lupin was a very good friend of my dad. I am safe with him. I will see you at lunch."

"Alright, we will save you a seat," Ron assured Harry.

"You wanted to see me Professor Lupin?" Harry asked as he stepped into the office of his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Ah Harry, please come and have a seat," Professor Lupin said.

Harry did so. "Did I do something wrong?"

Lupin smiled and shook his head. "Not at all Harry. In fact, I wanted to have a private chat with you. I am aware that pretty much anything I say to you; you will pass on to Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, but I was hoping that what I want to show you now will be kept quiet between us."

"I can't promise that sir until I know what it is," Harry told him.

"Quite right. I would expect no less of James son," Professor Lupin remarked. "I have a useful spell for you. Normally I wouldn't try and teach to this any student who wasn't at least sixth year, but I feel that you are ready to learn it as I have seen the impressive displays of magic that you have performed." He stood up as he spoke, flicking his wand and pushing everything to the side so that the middle of the room was mostly clear. He pointed his wand at his coat rack and it transformed into a target dummy. "Besides given your scar this spell seems appropriate for you to learn. Now watch and listen carefully."

Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the target dummy. " _Ut fulgur mittent_." A bolt of lightning flashed out of the end of his wand and struck the target dummy, drilling a hole through the target dummy.

" _Reparo_ ," he said pointing again at the target dummy and the damage repaired itself.

It took Harry about 15 minutes of practice to learn to say the spell correctly, but finally he was ready to try and hit the target dummy with it.

"Focus your magical energy Harry," Professor Lupin told him.

Harry nodded looking inward for a moment as he raised his wand. In his mind, he saw the Sirius Black, the one who had betrayed his parents, standing in front of him in the location of the target dummy. " _Ut fulgur mittent!_ " he yelled out as he pointed his wand at the target dummy. A massive bolt of red lightning shot out of the end of his wand, striking the target dummy and shattering into a million pieces in an massive explosion. But the spell still had energy left and continued to strike the wall of the office, blowing a hole into it as chunks of stone went flying everywhere.

"Bollocks," Lupin began as he raised his wand stepping in front of Harry. " _Protego Maxima!_ " he shouted out, casting a shield charm that covered both himself and Harry, protecting them from the flying chunks of stone.

* * *

Later that evening Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat near the fire in the common room as they talked about the events of the day and what Hermione's research had turned up on Basilisks. She opened the book on monsters to the section on Basilisks. "They should always be hunted by groups of specially trained wizards," she read out loud. "Lone Wizards or Witches who spot a Basilisk, should flee, being careful to avoid looking the creature in the eye or looking at a reflection of its eyes. To do so means death or in the case of the reflection being turned to stone."

"Malfoy was attacked from behind, so he would have never seen the creature," Ron said. "He is a very lucky for a git."

Mr. Malfoy had offered them each 10,000 gallons in reward money for saving the life of his son. Hermione had to talk Harry and Ron into accepting the reward, telling them that it would be an insult to do otherwise. The amount of money was more than enough to both fund the rest of her schooling at Hogwarts and leave her with extra for her private research that she wanted to conduct.

"He has been nicer to us since we saved his life," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, he hasn't tried to curse us," Ron admitted grudgingly.

"And he hasn't called me a Mudblood either," Hermione said. "But we are getting off topic." She picked the book back up and continued to read out loud. "One possible way to combat them should a situation arise in which a Witch or Wizard can't escape from the creature is to blind it using spells that will take its eyes out. Once blinded the creature is not helpless, however. The Basilisk can still spit acid or kill with its poison venom. The scales of the Basilisk act like armor, repelling many of the spells cast at it. To punch through its armored hide, powerful spells or focused fire are required."

"And how exactly do you blind it without looking it in the eyes?" Harry asked. "Don't you need to be able to see the area you are aiming at?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't think so. If you got a group of Wizards and Witches, you could fire blindly from all angles. If the fire was focused in a pattern hitting the eyes would be assured." He paused as he saw that Harry and Hermione didn't understand what he was saying.

"Look it's like playing chess. If you want to be assured of capturing an important piece you bracket it. So, that way no matter which way the piece moves, it is going to be captured."

Hermione nodded at this. "That makes a whole lot of sense Ron," she said as she closed the book.

"But, we still don't know where it is and it hasn't attacked any other students yet," Harry said. "We should go looking for it. I have my cloak and we could sneak by the patrols pretty easily."

"But Professor Dumbledore said we should leave it to the teachers," Hermione told him.

"Yeah, but if we had done that last year, Voldemort would have gotten the stone. They had some pretty weak protections in place because three first years were able to break them," Harry retorted.

"I am sorry I can't.," Hermione told him.

"I can't either mate, even though I want to." Ron agreed. "Mum was very upset about the fact that we didn't tell a teacher about the stone and that we went after it ourselves. I got a huge lecture with a lot of threats."

"Why not? I mean we have done crazy stuff in the past and gotten away with it. No one would know," Harry pleaded with them.

Hermione looked over at Ron. "Would you leave Harry and I alone for a bit?" she asked him.

"Are you serious? I thought we shared everything," Ron said.

Hermione blushed a bit. "This is a bit embarrassing and I am not sure that Wizards do the same thing. Please just go for a bit."

"Fine, I am going to bed then," Ron said standing up. "Night Harry."

"Night Ron," Harry responded.

Once Ron had left for bed, Hermione raised her wand. " _Muffiato_."

"You learned that spell after seeing it once?" Harry asked with amazement clear in his voice.

"It's a pretty simple spell with a bit of practice," Hermione told him.

"So, what is so private that you didn't want to tell Ron?" Harry asked her.

"You know that I try and follow the rules," Hermione began.

"And you lecture others about doing it as well," Harry remarked.

Even though the spell was ensuring that their conversation was private, Hermione still lowered her voice for the next part. "Last summer after my parents learned about what we did to get the stone, they were very upset. And they told me that if I pulled another stunt that foolish they would come to the castle and spank me," Hermione said before she lost her nerve to tell him. "I got spanked quite a bit before I turned ten, but I haven't had one since then. And I thought I was too old, but my parents told me that no I wasn't."

"What's so bad about a spanking?" Harry asked, having been abused, but never spanked.

Hermione turned bright red as she forced out the next part. "I don't know about the Wizarding World, but among muggles it's common to pull kids pants down before spanking them…and that is how my parents do it. It's embarrassing and it hurts."

Harry's eyes widened as he took this in. "They spank you naked?" he asked in a whisper. He squashed the part of him that wondered what Hermione looked like naked, burying it behind his worry that maybe Hermione was also being abused.

She shook her head quickly at this. "Not naked, just on my bare bottom." She saw the look on Harry's face and continued onward. "It's okay Harry. My parents love me and they aren't abusing me. They aren't like your Aunt and Uncle were."

* * *

The next morning the castle was abuzz with rumors that the monster had struck again last evening.

After breakfast, Harry was pulled into his Aunt's office. "You have heard the rumors that we had another attack?" his Aunt asked him.

Harry nodded at this.

"They are true. One of the first-year Gryffindor students snuck out and tried to take a picture of the monster," McGonagall told him as she gave him a hug.

"Is he…?" Harry asked.

She shook her head no. "Because he had the camera up to his face, he saw the Basilisk through the lens. That saved his life, and he was turned to stone instead. Still, this is the second attack and a cause for worry. The school can't take much more of this," she told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

She showed him the paper. The headline read _"Second Hogwarts Monster Attack Since Start of School Year! Will Hogwarts Close?_

"But they can't…" Harry sputtered.

"They can," McGonagall told him. "They almost did the first time around. We are just lucky that no one has died yet. "

* * *

 _A/N: I thought about including the conversation between Mr. Malfoy and the trio in this chapter, but it didn't advance the story, and was easy to summarize so I deleted it and wrote another scene in its place._

 _The lightning bolt spell is of my own design as I wanted Harry to have a different (and more useful later) signature spell. The other spells are pulled from either the books, movies or video games._

 _As usual, spells in bold in the glossary are of my own design._

 _Please review._

* * *

 _Glossary_

 _Muffiato: A spell that ensures private conversation by filling the ears of anyone trying to listen in with a buzzing sound. Invented by Snape._

 ** _Ut fulgur mittent_** _:_ _Latin for "I throw lightning/To throw lightning." Shoots a bolt of lightning out of the end of the wand of the caster. A NEWT level spell. The size and power of the lightning bolt depends on the power of the caster._

 _Reparo: The mending charm. Fixes objects._

 _Protego Maxima: A more powerful version of the shield charm, capable of protecting against greater forms of dark magic and can be cast by a group of wizards to shield a location._


End file.
